Covid-19 and the decline of the cinema blockbuster

F9 has become the most successful film since the start of the pandemic but it falls far short of previous benchmarks.

BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 01: People walk by a poster for film 'Fast & Furious 9' at a metro station on the first day of the May Day holiday on May 1, 2021 in Beijing, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

The ninth installation of the Fast & Furious franchise made headlines earlier this week for breaking the pandemic-era opening weekend box office record in the US. However, this does not signify a return to normality for the film industry.

According to Box Office Mojo, F9: The Fast Saga, brought in $70m in the US over its opening weekend, a significant improvement on flagship releases from last year (Christopher Nolan’s Tenet achieved just $9.3m in its opening weekend last August) but still far off pre-pandemic benchmarks.