The Key to Success For The Fast And The Furious? Diveristy.

Released in 2017, The Fate Of The Furious, also known as Fast Furious 8, had the third highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time, coming in second only to Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War. It grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the thirtieth film to ever gross over $1 billion. It’s in familiar company, as it was in fact the second film in The Fast and The Furious franchise to achieve such a monumental box office record, as Furious 7grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide.

In a world where adaptations, remakes and reboots dominate cinema, how has an original franchise about illegal street racing, heists and spies not only maintained but increased its appeal and profits over 20 years, to become an unstoppable juggernaut of cinema?

One answer may be staring us in the face: diversity.

Dergarabedian and other box office pundits are hard-pressed to think of another franchise that is as ethnically diverse, even as Hollywood in general is criticized for a lack of diversity both behind and in front of the camera.

But The Fast And The Furious franchise? They embraced diversity from their very first film in 2001, which featured mixed race actor Vin Diesel; Michelle Rodriguez, who is of Puerto-Rican and Dominican heritage; Jordana Brewster who hails from Panama City; and Californian actor Paul Walker. Sequels then included Samoan legend Dwayne Johnson, South-Korean actor Sung Kang, Black American actors Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris, West African actor Djimon Hounsou, Thailand martial artist Tony Jaa, Bollywood star Ali Fazal, Spanish actress Elsa Pataky and Israeli-born Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot.

You would be hard-pressed to think of another franchise where most audience members can look at the cast at feel visible and represented. Even the Marvel Cinematic Universe managed to make seventeen films before having a Black superhero lead a film in Black Panther, and it wasn’t until the twenty-first film in the franchise that Captain Marvel became the first female lead in an Avengers film.

Even the talent behind the camera of The Fats and The Furious franchise is ethnically diverse: only one of the eight Fast & Furious movies, including 2017’s The Fate Of The Furious, were directed by white faces. And the franchise’s box office returns and continued popularity prove that audiences are loving this approach.

“It doesn’t matter what nationality you are,” says Diesel about the series’ role as a diversity standard-bearer. “As a member of the audience, you realise you can be a member of that ‘family’. That’s the beautiful thing about how the franchise has evolved.”

Experts agree, noting that the audience demographics for the films are diverse, indicating the audiences are showing up to support the diverse casting choices.

According to Universal, 75% of the North American audience for Furious 7 were people of colour, generally in line with previous instalments. Hispanic audience members made up the majority of ticket buyers at 37%, white people bought 25%, Black cinema fans bought 24% of tickets, Asian movie-goers made up 10% of audience sales and 4% identified as “other.”

"The importance of diversity of the ensemble cast in the Fast and Furious franchise has been an integral part of the success of the brand," said Rentrak box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "There is literally someone within the cast that is relatable on some level to nearly every moviegoer around the world, and this has paid big dividends at the box office and also in terms of how casting decisions will be made in the future for these types of large-scale action epics."

Next week sees the release of the first standalone spin-off from The Fast And Furious franchise, Hobbs and Shaw, which sees Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham reprise their roles as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw. The film sees the two sworn enemies partnering up to take down the cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton (Idris Elba), who has gained control of an insidious bio-threat that could alter humanity forever.
Hobbs & Shaw blasts open a new door in the Fast universe as it hurtles action across the globe, from Los Angeles to London and from the toxic wasteland of Chernobyl to the lush beauty of Samoa.

Given the franchise’s success so far, it seems inevitable that Hobbs and Shaw will do well, but perhaps the most important lesson for Hollywood to learn is that diversity, both on and offscreen, works. We know The Fast And The Furious franchise has always been about speed, but it’s high time the film industry caught up with its inclusive philosophy.