Well, that was predictable. Following its mammoth debut last weekend, Fast & Furious 7 saw off competition from the Nicholas Sparks juggernaut - The Longest Ride, specifically - to again claim pole position at the US box office. The latest Fast took in $60.5 million across the last three days, according to studio estimates.
Smashing through records like median barriers, the film has raced past $252 million in the States, on its way to an impressive $800 million-plus global haul in just a few days on release. It has already out-grossed the sixth film in domestic terms and has made more than the original took worldwide in cinemas. The eighth instalment might not yet be on the grid, but you can expect Universal's development garage to be humming soon enough. And Furious 7 doesn’t look to have any massive competition (Paul Blart 2? Could be huge...) for a few weeks, at least until a certain group of Marvel heroes returns to rule the roost.
DreamWorks Animation’s Home continues to be a strong performer for the company, this weekend earning $19 million for a $129 million US total, which seems certain to earn back the film’s $135 production budget just in its domestic haul. We would not be surprised to see this one join the Kung Fu Panda and **How To Train Your Dragon **movies in the franchise pantheon from the ‘toon team.
In third place, the latest Sparks movie, The Longest Ride, performed largely as predicted for Fox, earning $13.5 million. Get Hard fell one place to third, adding $8.6 million to its coffer for a surprisingly buoyant $71.2 million American take so far. Cinderella slipped to fifth, making $7.2 million, still an impressive achievement considering it has been in the charts for five weeks now.
The Divergent Series: Insurgent was down to sixth with $6.8 million, while Woman In Gold stayed strong in seventh, adding 1,246 screens for a $5.8 million weekend. It Follows continues to show long legs, making $2 million. Al Pacino musician drama **Danny Collins **slipped into the top ten following its limited platform release, and it earned $1.6 million in ninth. At ten we find fellow “new” arrival, Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young, which expanded its screen count and jumped from 14th to tenth place with $1.3 million.
To see Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto outpace a rodeo bull rider in the full chart listings, head to Box Office Mojo.