Weekend Box Office Report: May 24-26, 2013

Fast & Furious & First!

There's still plenty of fuel left in the tank of the glossy vehicular franchise known for its undeniable fastness and furiosity, proven once again as FAST & FURIOUS 6 zoomed to the #1 position with a $98.5 million opening weekend.

The Diesel-powered sixth entry (which should end up with around $122 million when tomorrow's holiday receipts are included) surpassed the surprising opening of FAST FIVE, which peeled off the line in April 2011 with $86.1 million, toward an eventual $209.8M finish (and a $626.1M worldwide total).

The paying crowds also stamped the speedy action flick with an 'A' CinemaScore, so those muscular motors should keep revving for a few more summer weekends. FAST & FURIOUS 6 has also driven away with an additional $177 million from international markets. No wonder the studio is in a hurry to get the next sequel into theaters for next summer (even though four-time FAST director Justin Lin won't be back behind the camera).

Audiences weren't quite as enthused about another crazy trip with the Wolf Pack, leaving the THE HANGOVER PART III locked up in second place and pondering what happened — the R-rated trilogy-ender didn't quite have the showdown some were expecting with the weekend's other big release, getting left in FAST & FURIOUS 6's dust with $42.4 million (and a $52.4 million total since its Thursday opening).

The concluding chapter of THE HANGOVER (which this time cost over $100M to make, compared to the $35M budget of the first) didn't entirely thrill moviegoers, who gave PART III a 'B' CinemaScore — even after PART II somehow managed a grade of 'A-'. THE HANGOVER PART II opened this same weekend in 2011 with $85.9 million and a $254.4M total (shy of THE HANGOVER's $277M).

Americans may be getting exhausted with the binge-activated antics, but THE HANGOVER PART III hasn't yet made it to most overseas areas, where the movies have also been popular (THE HANGOVER's worldwide total was $467.4M and PART II made $586.7M).

Regardless of who won the competition, the multiplex was definitely a popular destination over the long holiday weekend — it's looking like the total box office will be an all-time high for both Memorial Day and for any four-day holiday period.

Last week's winner STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS docked in third place with another $38 million (a respectable 45% drop in business) and a $146.8 million 11-day total. The JJ Abrams reboot sequel (up to almost $250M worldwide) managed propel itself ahead of Fox's new computer-animated EPIC, which debuted in fourth place with $34.2 million. The 3D fantasy from the ICE AGE creators filled a void for family entertainment (THE CROODS first opened two-and-a-half months ago) but was clearly the underdog in a heavyweight weekend.

IRON MAN 3 dropped to fifth place with $19.4 million, and $367.5 million total after four weeks in domestic release. But Marvel's shiny Avenger is up to $1.14 billion worldwide, putting the Stark blockbuster at #5 on the all-time global moneymaker chart and passing TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, LOTR: RETURN OF THE KING, SKYFALL and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

THE GREAT GATSBY came in sixth with $13.7 million, and the lavish adaptation passed the $100 million mark earlier in the week, making it the biggest domestic release for director Baz Luhrmann. Things take a steep dive after that, although Matthew McConaughey's MUD is standing firm even while relinquishing screens to make room for the big summer releases.

Outside the chart, PEEPLES, THE BIG WEDDING and Michael Bay's PAIN & GAIN (at #4 last week) slipped from sight while the third Hawke/Delpy/Linklater romance BEFORE MIDNIGHT had a strong $54k per-screen limited release opening.

Next weekend features Will Smith and offspring Jaden stranded with M. Night Shyamalan in the sci-fi movie AFTER EARTH, plus several familiar faces use their illusionist skills to steal in NOW YOU SEE ME.

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