"F9" Scores Record Opening, WWE Congratulates John Cena

By Marc Middleton

WWE has congratulated John Cena on the success of the new "F9: Fast & Furious 9" movie.

The movie hit domestic theaters this past weekend and earned more than $70 million, setting a new record among movies released during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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F9 had the biggest domestic opening weekend since "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" in December 2019, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film is playing in 4,179 theaters in North America, which is the widest count for any movie opening in recent months as more cinemas resume operations following the coronavirus shutdowns.

F9 marks the first time Cena has appeared in the franchise. He plays the role of Jakob Toretto, brother to lead character Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel. The plot follows Dom and his crew as they come together to stop a world-shattering plot led by Jakob.

The movie has earned more than $400 million internationally since being released on May 19 in other markets. F9 brought in $300 million internationally going into the weekend, then another $38 million this weekend. The movie earned $10.7 million in Mexico, and $8.3 million in the UK. F9 will continue its international rollout throughout the summer.

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F9 also set a single-day record for the COVID-19 pandemic era as it drew $30 million last Friday, including $7.1 million in previews.

One week ago the "Fast" franchise became the fifth-biggest franchise globally, with $6.2 billion, surpassing the X-Men series. While F9 surpassed the $60 million domestic launch of "Hobbs & Shaw," which featured former WWE Champion The Rock, it didn't quite reach the $98.8 million opening of "The Fate of The Furious" in 2017, which also featured Rock.

WWE congratulated Cena on last night's RAW, and on Twitter. As seen below, they tweeted a graphic touting the success of the movie.

"CONGRATULATIONS @JohnCena! [clapping hands emoji] Number 1 in the Box Office. Number 2 in our [heart emoji]," they wrote.

Cena is expected to return to the ring for WWE at SummerSlam on August 21, to challenge WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. He has been away since losing to "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 in 2020.

Stay tuned for more.

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