“Fast and Furious,” which brought stars including Paul Walker and Vin Diesel back to the franchise, earned a series-best $72.5 million at the box office, according to early estimates.
In addition to topping the mark set by “2 Fast 2 Furious” by over $20 million, the film also set box office records. It was the largest April opening in history, and it also gave Universal Pictures its best non-holiday opening gross to date.
Though it had a significantly better reception from critics, fellow new release “Adventureland” did not rival the “Furious” box office impact. The film earned only $6 million this weekend.
“Monsters vs. Aliens,” which dominated the box office last weekend, fell to second with $33.5 million. Despite its predictably steep drop, “The Haunting in Connecticut” managed to slip into third with $9.6 million. “Knowing” ($8.1mil) and “I Love You Man” ($7.9mil) rounded out the top five.
Weekend Top Ten:
1) Fast and Furious – $72.5 million
2) Monsters vs. Aliens – $33.5 million ($105.7 million)
3) The Haunting in Connecticut – $9.6 million ($37.2 million)
4) Knowing – $8.1 million ($58.2 million)
5) I Love You, Man – $7.9 million ($49.3 million)
6) Adventureland – $6 million
7) Duplicity – $4.3 million ($32.4 million)
8) Race to Witch Mountain – $3.4 million ($58.4 million)
9) 12 Rounds – $2.3 million ($9 million)
10) Sunshine Cleaning – $1.9 million ($4.8 million)
