One of the earliest Fast & Furious movies flopped at the box office, but it is actually arguably the most important film in the series. Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine a Fast & Furious film failing at the box office. Over the years, it has evolved into one of the most popular action franchises in Hollywood. The last six movies have all grossed at least $700 million, and two of them have earned over $1 billion. The upcoming Fast & Furious 11 will also likely be a box office hit, since it is the last movie in the franchise.
However, it wasn’t always the case that Fast & Furious movies were going to be guaranteed hits. Before it evolved into an action franchise, the Fast & Furious movies focused on street racing. One movie, in particular, didn’t have a huge ensemble cast and epic action sequences that all the recent films in the franchise have. Despite being one of the most well-made and important movies in the series, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift flopped at the box office.
Tokyo Drift’s Box Office Failure Confirmed Fast & Furious Needed Brian And Dom
Diesel & Walker Returned To The Fast & Furious Franchise After Tokyo Drift
The first Fast & Furious movie focused on the relationship between Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker’s Brian O’Connor. In the film, Brian was an undercover cop investigating Dom’s crew, but the two men ended up forming a special bond. Despite this, Diesel did not return in 2 Fast 2 Furious, in which Brian teamed up with Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pierce instead. However, the third film in the franchise, 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, didn’t focus on Dom or Brian.
This disappointing box office proved that the franchise needed either Diesel or Walker.
Instead, Tokyo Drift follows Sean, a high school student who is forced to live with his father in Tokyo and gets involved in its street racing scene. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is actually one of the best movies in the franchise, but it didn’t make much at the box office. Tokyo Drift only made $157 million on a high budget of $85 million (via The Numbers). This disappointing box office proved that the franchise needed either Diesel or Walker. Thankfully, Diesel appeared in the post-credits scene of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
One Of Fast & Furious’ Greatest Characters Would Not Exist Without Tokyo Drift
The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift Introduced Han
After the failure of Tokyo Drift, Dom and Brian would be solidified as the two main characters in the Fast & Furious franchise. Even though it is a great movie, Tokyo Drift didn’t have enough star power to convince people to see it in theaters. However, one of the best characters in the franchise wouldn’t exist without Tokyo Drift. After being introduced in Tokyo Drift, Han quickly became one of the most important characters in the series.
Technically, Han is introduced in Justin Lin’s 2002 film Better Luck Tomorrow, but this is not considered to be an official Fast & Furious movie. Therefore, despite playing the same character in both films, Tokyo Drift was the first time that actor Sung Kang showed what kind of character he would be in the Fast & Furious franchise. Han tragically dies in Tokyo Drift, which is the most emotional moment in the film, but also becomes an important plot point in the series since Fast & Furious 6 sheds more light on his death.
Han’s Death In Tokyo Drift Has Been A Major Plot Point Since Fast & Furious 6
Han Didn’t Actually Die In Tokyo Drift
Even though Fast & Furious 6 came out seven years after Tokyo Drift, it did not forget about the plot of the film and the character of Han. In the post-credits scene of Fast & Furious 6, it is revealed that Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw is actually the person who murdered Han. Deckard is the main villain of Furious 7, which finally catches up to Tokyo Drift in the Fast & Furious timeline.
|
Every Fast & Furious Movie |
Worldwide Box Office |
RT Critics Score |
|---|---|---|
|
The Fast and the Furious (2001) |
$206,458,372 |
55% |
|
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) |
$236,410,607 |
37% |
|
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) |
$157,794,205 |
38% |
|
Fast & Furious (2009) |
$359,347,833 |
29% |
|
Fast Five (2011) |
$629,975,898 |
78% |
|
Fast & Furious 6 (2013) |
$789,300,444 |
71% |
|
Furious 7 (2015) |
$1,511,986,364 |
82% |
|
The Fate of the Furious (2017) |
$1,235,534,014 |
67% |
|
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) |
$760,732,926 |
67% |
|
F9: The Fast Saga (2021) |
$719,360,068 |
59% |
|
Fast X (2023) |
$714,375,114 |
57% |
After this shocking reveal in Fast & Furious 6, Han ended up returning in F9, which saw him reunite with characters from Tokyo Drift. Han also returned in Fast X, the most recent film in the franchise. In Fast X, Han actually encounters Deckard Shaw again years after he tried to murder him. The relationship between these two characters will likely be further explored in Fast & Furious 11. Therefore, even though it is the lowest-grossing movie in the franchise, Tokyo Drift set up many character arcs and plot points for future films in the Fast & Furious series.
Fast & Furious
- Movie(s)
-
The Fast And The Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious, Hobbs and Shaw, F9: The Fast Saga, Fast X, Hobbs and Shaw 2, Fast X: Part 2
- First Film
-
The Fast And The Furious
- Cast
-
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Lucas Black, Sung Kang, Bow Wow, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, John Cena
- Video Game(s)
-
The Fast and the Furious (2004), The Fast and the Furious (2006), Fast & Furious: SuperCars, Fast & Furious: Showdown, Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious, Fast & Furious Crossroads
