ALIENS - FAST AND FURIOUS ZOOMS TO US NUMBER ONE SPOT

FAST AND FURIOUS ZOOMS TO US NUMBER ONE SPOT

Automotive thriller Fast & Furious has sped to the top of the US box office charts, it has been confirmed.

The fourth film in the car racing franchise, which reunites the stars of the 2001 original, earned $72.5 million (£48.6 million) to debut at number one after its opening weekend on release.

The Universal Pictures film smashed the record opening of 2009 set a week previously by Monsters vs Aliens, which debuted with $58.2 million (£41 million).

Fast and Furious also earned an impressive $30.1 million (£20.2 million) overseas, meaning it has easily covered its budget of $85 million (£56.9 million).

Starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, the high-octane film opens in the UK on April 10th.

Horror movie The Haunting in Connecticut fell one place to third while the only other new entry in the US top 10 was period comedy Adventureland, which entered at number six.

The top ten films at the US box office are: (last week's position)

1 Fast & Furious (-)
2 Monsters vs Aliens (1)
3 The Haunting in Connecticut (2)
4 Knowing (3)
5 I Love You, Man (4)
6 Adventureland (-)
7 Duplicity (5)
8 Race to Witch Mountain (6)
9 12 Rounds (7)
10 Sunshine Cleaning (11)