F9: The Fast Saga vroomed to the domestic box office race finish line with far more impressive than expected numbers. Projected to open in the United States and Canada with $60 million, the Justin Lin-directed action-adventure ended up bringing in $70 million to further jump-start movie theater attendance.

With those dollar figures, the Universal Pictures flick zoomed past A Quiet Place Part II as the domestic release that scored the highest debut in the coronavirus pandemic era. The Vin Diesel starrer also marked the biggest bow at the domestic box office since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.

The penultimate installment to the Fast & Furious franchise also boosted the industry belief that filmgoers, feeling at ease with more people vaccinated and long cooped up in their homes, are raring and ready to enjoy the big-screen experience again.

Box office analysts pointed out that even with some cineplexes still shuttered in the U.S. and Canada, F9, which also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster and Tyrese Gibson, beat the pre-pandemic debut earnings of such hits as Hobbs & Shaw and Bad Boys for Life.

On a weekend dominated by F9 and A Quiet Place 2, which ranked a strong second, box office experts also cited that these two films are not being streamed. That this pair of event movies is not available with a quick click in homes is luring people to flock to the movie theaters and relish the joys of actual moviegoing again. Both movies will not be streamed until 45 days after their initial theatrical release.

John Krasinski’s sequel, still going strong on its fifth weekend, picked up $6.2 million to add to its cumulative domestic take of $136.39 million.

The next two box office champs are also not yet available on the streaming platform so there may indeed be wisdom in day-and-date releases affecting some movies’ box office performance. Third and fourth place finishers, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, drew $4.88 million and $4.85 million, respectively.

In fifth and sixth places were Cruella and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which sold $3.7 million and $2.92 million tickets, respectively.

In the Heights, which is available theatrically and via HBO Max, slid further at number seven with $2.23 million, a 47 percent drop from last weekend.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Spirit Untamed ($1.03 million), Nobody ($560,000), and The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 ($229,000).

F9 also ruled overseas, taking in $38 million for an offshore tally of $335 million. Solid number one debuts in Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, among other countries, contributed to the international dominance of the movie offering car and motorcycle stunts.

Placing next are four releases which all coincidentally reached the $100 million mark overseas: Emma Stone’s Cruella ($10.6 million), Emily Blunt’s A Quiet Place 2 ($9.6 million), Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s The Conjuring 3 ($6.9 million) and Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, David Oyelowo and James Corden’s Peter Rabbit 2 ($6.3 million).