Director Justin Lin’s Fast and Furious 6 finally opened in China, giving Universal its biggest opening in the country to-date.

The latest installment of the long-running action franchise managed to score around $6.9 million on Friday. If things continue barreling along at this pace, then the flick could end up with a grand total of $24 million over the weekend.

With a little help from moviegoers in China, Fast and Furious 6 is expected to cross the $500 million mark at the foreign box office on Sunday. The franchise’s continued popularity means that fans will likely have a steady stream of sequels into the foreseeable future.

As of this writing, the film’s domestic box office total is currently perched at $237 million. Globally, the flick has enjoyed approximately $712 million in ticket sales The series is one of the very few in existence that continues to get more popularity with every installment.

Surprisingly, the Fast and the Furious series is the most lucrative franchise in Universal Pictures history. Although the studio has been around for over 100 years, the story of a group of friends and their fast cars and proven to be the most popular of them all.

According to The Wrap, China is the last territory to get the box office smash. The film opened there several months after bowing in North America. Although bootlegs of the flick are widely available on torrent sites, this apparently did little to stop moviegoers from coughing up the price of a ticket.

The sequel’s popularity over the weekend may help calm tensions between Universal Pictures and China. Officials with the State Administration for Radio, Film, and Television reportedly turned down the chance to screen Despicable Me 2 earlier this month. It’s currently unclear why the flick was rejected.

“It’s very unlikely that it is about the content of the film. What could Despicable Me 2 possibly be doing to threaten people’s interests there?” film consultant Robert Cain told the Los Angeles Times.

Are you surprised that Fast and Furious 6 is doing strong business in China?

[Image via Universal Pictures]