F9, the latest installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, hit theaters, on Friday (June 25), and is expected to break the Box Office pandemic record with an estimated $70m domestically during its first release weekend. The film is the first in the series to feature Cardi B as the character Leysa.
As for worldwide figures, F9 is expected to take home $405 million in total, much higher than the $225 million it cost to produce.
“I love the fact that I’m representing such a powerful, strong woman,” Cardi recently said of her character. “She’s just that bitch. Leysa’s such a badass.”
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Her costar, Vin Diesel, recently confirmed that she’ll be returning in the role for the series’ next film. In F9, Leysa is an old friend of Diesel’s character, Dom Toretto.
Director Justin Lin said he loved working with Cardi when asked about her performance on set.
“I love Cardi, you know? I mean, it’s amazing she showed up and within a minute she’s part of the family, right?” he said recently. “And I love how when I got together with her, her and Vin were talking about the character because she’s actually really embedded into the overall universe, she’s been around for a long time and this is just the first time we are seeing her, so I’m really excited to explore that character of her.”
[Via]