娱乐英语新闻:"Fast & Furious 6" tops Memorial Day weekend box office

LOS ANGELES, May 26 (Xinhua) -- "Fast & Furious 6" ruled the Memorial Day weekend box office in North America as it opened with an overwhelming gross that eclipsed all other multiplex rivals, Sunday estimates showed.

The sixth entry into director Justin Lin's blockbuster action hit, which debuted on Friday, is projected to roll up 98.5 million dollars worth of tickets during the three-day weekend, according to its distributor Universal Studios.

The latest sequel is also on pace for a 122.2-million-dollar four-day Memorial Day gross ending on Monday, making it the No. 1 grossing film over the weekend.

The actioner, benefiting from Hispanics who are the most frequent filmgoers and made up 32 percent of the film's audience, outperformed the 86.2-million-dollar three-day debut achieved by the last installment in 2011.

Hitting 3,658 theaters in the United States and Canada, the film also notched the fourth best four-day Memorial Day weekend opening of all time. Its three-day opening is also the largest that a Universal film has ever achieved.

It earned an "A" rating on CinemaScore. A male-skewer, "Fast & Furious 6" had a 51-percent male audience, and 57 percent of the audience were aged over 25.

"Hangover Part III," opening on Thursday as one of the three new films hitting theaters this weekend, placed a distant second. The Warner Bros. latest entry into the popular franchise is on track for a 42.4-million-dollar four-day weekend and a 51.3- million-dollar five-day gate.

Although the Todd Phillips film starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms registered the second largest Memorial Day take for an R-rated film after "Hangover Part II," critics believe that a lackluster debut, a "B" CinemaScore and poor reviews will not help the film in a crowded market.

"Star Trek Into Darkness," from Paramount, is estimated to rake in 38 million dollars in ticket sales and finish in third. The J.J. Abrams' space epic is on track to garner 147 million dollars over two weeks in exhibition.

"Epic," Fox's counter-programmed animated movie, opened in the fourth place with a 34.2-million-dollar weekend estimate. "Iron Man 3" placed in fifth with a 19.4-million-dollar business.

Rounding out the 10 most popular movies this weekend in North America were "The Great Gatsby" (13.7 million dollars), "Mud" (1.9 million), "42" (1.2 million), "The Croods" (1.2 million) and " Oblivion" (815,000).