Well, that didn't take long. Fate of the Furious was released less than three weeks ago, and it's already shattering all expectations. Thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, widespread distribution in 20,000 locations across 63 countries, and an all-star cast including the first appearances of Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren and Scott Eastwood in the series, Fate of the Furious made $532.5 million in its opening weekend, which was the biggest worldwide movie launch ever. And now it's crossed the $1 billion mark in its third weekend.

As reported by Variety, the global total for Fate of the Furious currently stands at a whopping $1.06 billion, making it the 21st highest grossing movie of all time behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest released in 2006. Domestically, Fate of the Furious continues to dominate having made $19.4 million last weekend in 4,077 theaters, for a total of $192.7 million. That sounds high, but it pales in comparison to the film's international earnings, which stand at $867.6 million grossed overseas. Furious 7 eventually went on to make $1.5 billion, but Fate of the Furious seems unlikely to surpass that due to its slower domestic performance.

Fate of the Furious also hasn't had a lot of competition since its release, but the highly-anticipated Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens in US theaters this week which will inevitably slow it down. Clearly, audiences are lapping up the crazy carnage and physics-defying stunts that are now a staple of the series, which sets the bar high for the forthcoming Furious 9 and 10 sequels and spin-off starring Jason Statham and The Rock. At this rate, it's surely only a matter of time before the series heads into outer space – it's not like they don't have the budget.