Impressively, Gray made history predominantly through the international box office. According to IndieWire, “the eighth entry in the ‘Furious’ franchise currently stands at about $1.2 billion, with more than 80% of that business outside North America—making this the unusual (and welcome) case of a black director’s film making the bulk of its money outside the U.S.”
If you’re counting, Gray’s is the latest long-overdue “first” for black people in Hollywood, following Jordan Peele’s record-breakers for Get Out and Ava DuVernay becoming the first woman of color to direct a $100 million movie (A Wrinkle in Time). Ryan Coogler will probably get another first once Black Panther arrives.
So rarely do black directors get a chance to take on blockbuster films that Gray is in exclusive company. The short list of top-grossing black directors includes names like Keenen Ivory Wayans (Scary Movie), Spike Lee (Inside Man), John Singleton (2 Fast 2 Furious) and Tim Story (Fantastic Four), though still no black women directors. For Gray, it all started with Friday, a movie that’s endlessly watchable; he also directed the great heist film Set It Off, The Italian Job and the well-executed (if flawed) NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton.
