After receiving rave reviews, the “best action movie of the year” is beating up the competition at the box office. The film in question is a return to the classic and bloody action thrillers that Hollywood just doesn’t make anymore. In this case, that sentiment still rings through, as the Hong Kong-based action movie is giving action fans what they want. While the characters brutally kill each other on screen, the film is also making a proverbial killing at the box office following its opening weekend.
It might not beat Steven Spielberg’s new sci-fi hit, Disclosure Day, which was the most popular movie last weekend, but The Furious is definitely one to watch — both the actual movie and its box office figures. The film opened to a decent $17 million worldwide, with $13.5 million of that coming from the Chinese box office. For any normal Hollywood movie, that would be a very poor performance. But for a relatively low-budget ($20 million) action thriller, it’s well on its way to turning a profit.
Directed by Kenji Tanigaki, The Furious is being distributed in the US by Lionsgate (which recently released its most successful movie of all time: Michael). After debuting at 2025’s Toronto International Film Festival, alongside Obsession, the film was quickly snapped up for US distribution by Lionsgate. It seems fitting, given that Lionsgate is responsible for the genre-redefining action hit, John Wick, as The Furious has repeatedly been compared to the Keanu Reeves-led action caper.
‘The Furious’ Is a Near-Perfect Action Hit
It can be interesting to follow box office statistics. But, at the end of the day, those numbers only really matter to suit-wearing pencil-pushers at the big Hollywood studios — the kind shows like The Studio endlessly mock. At the end of the day, all that matters is whether The Furious is a good movie. If its strong reception at Toronto wasn’t a hint enough, The Furious is a fantastic action movie.
But, audiences are going one step beyond calling it a great movie as, per the Rotten Tomatoes user reviews, it’s “hands-down the best action film of the year.” The film holds a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score, with a 95% user rating. The critics’ consensus states that “The Furious detonates into a relentless, blood-soaked spectacle of breathtakingly inventive martial arts choreography, with director Kenji Tanigaki delivering a brutal, balletic action extravaganza.” Meanwhile, audiences aren’t holding back with their hyperbole-filled reviews, as one wrote, “This has to be downright one of the best martial arts movies I’ve seen in years.”
What is ‘The Furious’ Actually About?
You’ve seen and heard the hype, but what is The Furious actually about? No, it’s not an unofficial The Fast and the Furious sequel. Instead, the film follows Wang Wei (Xie Miao), whose daughter is kidnapped by a criminal network. When the corrupt cops refuse to help him, he finds an unlikely ally in Navin (Joe Taslim), a journalist searching for his missing wife. The pair don’t hold back in their search for their lost loved ones.
- Release Date
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June 10, 2026
- Runtime
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113 minutes
- Director
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Kenji Tanigaki
- Writers
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Mak Tin-Shu, Shum Kwan-sin, Frank Hui, Lei Zhilong
- Producers
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Bill Kong Chi-Keung, Frank Hui, Tam Chi-San
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