Fast & Furious 6 broke box office records this past weekend, becoming the highest Memorial Day opening in history. The film also had the second highest opening this year, behind Iron Man 3. The film’s success has already been significantly greater than the past two pieces of the Fast & Furious franchise. What made this film so much more successful that its counterparts?

The answer might just be diversity. With each new Fast & Furious film, the cast continues to become more diversified to reach out to a larger audience. The target market for the film continues to broaden and appeal to a larger amount of people all over the United States.  Diversity in the cast, both in ethnicity and gender, has led to a wider appeal to a wider audience. Each new installment brings a more diverse group of actors, which in response, brings in more money.

The director of Fast & Furious 6, Justin Lin, has made some significant changes in the story-line of this newest movie, compared to other Fast & Furious films of the past. He decided to further develop some of the relationships and give more power to the women.  The older Fast & Furious films appealed to a very specific demographic: males between the ages of 18-30. But now the film has added more aspects that seem to appeal to everyone.  To attract the attention from the male viewers, the film stars Gina Carano, Jordana Brewster, and Gal Gadot. And for the women to gaze, the film also stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Luke Evans.  What used to be a film for only men in their 20s, is now a movie that appeals to both women and men equally. Also, the film stars actors and actresses from a range of ethnicities including: Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, and Sung Kang.

Could this be a strategic marketing move for future Hollywood movies? Would you be more willing to see a movie outside of your traditional scope because of a more diverse cast? Dwayne Johnson followers have seen him in a spectrum of films, from action to family to comedy. Am I proud to admit I watched the Tooth Fairy? No, but I did – thanks to a unique casting decision. If you like action and adventure, with a twist of diversity, then you should go see this movie!