Surprise: Vin Diesel’s Film had Budget Comparable to Avatar 2, Despite Box Office Letdown

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Van Diesel more expensive than a full tank of gasoline

If you like high-energy action films and appreciate even more when everything is sprinkled with beautiful chases that sometimes defy the laws of physics, you surely know the saga Fast and Furious. With a first episode released in 2001, this license accompanied its fans for more than 20 years, until the very last Fast X released in 2023. Still with Vin Diesel in the lead role, this film produced by Universal is none other than the penultimate in the saga, which should conclude with its eleventh episode in April 2025.

While they were originally only films centered on car racing, the Fast and Furious saga gradually developed to become a true reference in action cinema. As such, she has also afforded a dream casting on several occasions, and above all has never skimped on means. But with Fast X, Universal decided to open the floodgates by proposing a budget originally estimated at $340 million. In doing so, Fast X became the most expensive film of 2023. But lately, new public documents have revealed that the tenth episode of the saga actually cost much more than that…

A budget that doesn't save you from a flat tire

It's thanks to the magazine Forbes that the information was able to land in the ears of the public: Fast X would have cost much more than its estimated budget. Indeed, as part of procedures to benefit from tax relief, official documents were made public in which we learned that Fast X reportedly cost $453 million in total. As such, the film produced by Universal would enter directly into the Top 10 most expensive films of the 21st centuryin front Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and behind Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

For comparison, Avatar 2: The Way of Water had an estimated budget of $250 million, but James Cameron himself admitted that it was greatly underestimated. According to external estimates, in the end, Fast X and Avatar 2 would have cost more or less the same amount of money. The difference between the two is that James Cameron's film grossed no less than $2.3 billion at the worldwide box office, something that Fast X didn't have the chance to do.

Quite the opposite, moreover, since Fast X is ultimately one of the most disappointing films of the saga in terms of profitability. With $704 million collected at the worldwide box office, it made less than Fast & Furious 9 (726 million) which cost half as much. Despite Universal's hopes, Fast X therefore follows on from the disappointing figures of the saga since the seventh episode, after which many spectators stopped following the adventures of Vin Diesel's gang. In other words, even if it remains profitable, Fast X can well be considered a flop given the money invested and the low return on investment. We hope that the eleventh and final episode expected for next year will raise the level a little. If you want to rewatch some films from the saga, know that many are available on Amazon Prime Video.