Question: when did the fast and the furious start
Answer: Distributed by Universal Pictures , the series was established with the 2001 film titled The Fast and the Furious ; this was followed by seven sequels , two short films that tie into the series , and as of May 2017 , it has become Universal 's biggest franchise of all time , currently the sixth - highest - grossing film series of all time with a combined gross of over $5 billion .