'Fast & Furious' speeds to top at box office
AFP
LOS ANGELES - "Fast & Furious" sped straight to the top of the North American box office in its opening weekend, according to preliminary figures released on Sunday.
Starring Vin Diesel, the car-centered action flick netted a whopping 72.5 million dollars placing it at number 27 on the list of top openers of all time, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
It beat out "Monsters and Aliens" which slipped to number two with 33.5 million dollars after debuting at number one last week with its tale of a ragtag group of monsters who are ordered to help battle invading aliens and save the world from destruction.
In third place was "The Haunting in Connecticut," a thriller about a family who are terrorized by supernatural forces in their charming new home which was once a funeral parlor, taking in 9.5 million dollars.
"Knowing," a time-travel drama starring Nicolas Cage, came in fourth with just over eight million dollars, totaling 58 million dollars in its third week on the chart.
The buddy film "I Love You, Man" which features Paul Rudd as a groom who is desperate to make male friends ahead of his wedding, came in fifth, dropping one spot from last week but still pocketing 7.85 million dollars.
The comedy tale "Adventureland," about a recent graduate who, to his surprise, finds the perfect job at a fairground, opened in sixth place with six million dollars.
The Julia Roberts spy tale "Duplicity" took in 4.3 million dollars for seventh place, while Disney adventure "Race to Witch Mountain" trailed in eighth with 3.5 million dollars.
Fox's action thriller "12 Rounds" earned 2.3 million in its second week, just enough to take the ninth spot.
"Sunshine Cleaning," in which sisters pair up to start a crime scene cleaning service, rounded out the top 10 with 1.9 million dollars in its fourth weekend, for a total of 4.8 million.
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