BOX OFFICE

Fast Five Sets Records

April's largest opening ever.

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are back in the fifth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, roaring into theaters on Friday and coming out with an estimated $33.2 million. The result was the largest opening day ever at the box office during the month of April. Budgeted at $125 million, Universal Pictures' car-racing action film is set to finish the weekend at $78 million, making it the biggest opening in the production company's history. It surpassed Universal's original Fast and Furious' $71 million weekend debut and even Jurassic Park's $72.1 million. Fast Five has provided a big boost for this year's box office which has been struggling (Rio was 2011's highest grossing opening at $39.2 million). Budgeted at $30 million, The Weinstein Company's Hoodwinked Too! Good vs. Evil completely flopped, finishing Friday with a disappointing $1.1 million. Water For Elephants, the romantic drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, dropped 58 percent in ticket sales from Easter weekend.