'Furious 7' keeps speed, tops box office with $60.6 million

NEW YORK (AP) — The high-octane thriller "Furious 7" maintained speed in its second week, racing away with $60.6 million at North American theaters and bringing its box-office total to a robust $252.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Universal's "Furious 7" more than lapped the competition. The only new wide release of the weekend, the rodeo romance "The Longest Ride," opened with $13.5 million.

That was good enough for third place for the Fox release, which stars Clint Eastwood's son, Scott Eastwood. In second was the DreamWorks animated alien adventure "Home," which pulled in $19 million in its third week of release.

But "Furious 7" continued to dominate the marketplace, dropping only 59 percent from its remarkable $147.2 million debut last weekend. Globally, it has already crossed $800 million in its first two weeks of release, according to Universal.

The weekend international total — an eye-popping $195 million — was boosted by the film premiering in China on Sunday, where it earned an estimated $68.6 million in just one day.

Over 10 days, "Furious 7," which prominently features a tribute to the late actor Paul Walker, has already out-grossed all previous installments of the 14-year-old franchise.

At its current pace, "Furious 7" will likely become the highest grossing film in Universal's history. The studio's "Jurassic Park," from 1993, holds Universal's mark with $1.02 billion worldwide.

It's a summer blockbuster-sized result for "Furious 7," but by opening in April, it has little competition in its way. On a much smaller scale, the critically acclaimed science-fiction film "Ex Machina" drew the year's largest theater average of $62,489 in four theaters.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Furious 7," $60.6 million ($195 million international).

2. "Home," $19 million ($15.2 million international).

3. "The Longest Ride," $13.5 million ($3 million international).

4. "Get Hard," $8.6 million ($1.4 million international).

5. "Cinderella," $7.2 million ($12.6 million international).

6. "The Divergent Series: Insurgent," $6.9 million ($7.9 million international).

7. "Woman in Gold," $5.9 million.

8. "It Follows," $2 million.

9. "Danny Collins," $1.6 million.

10. "While We're Young," $1.4 million.

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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak:

1. "Furious 7," $195 million.

2. "Wolf Warriors," $18 million.

3. "Home," $15.2 million

4. "Cinderella," $12.6 million.

5. "Kingsman: The Secret Service," $9 million.

6. "Let's Get Married," $8.5 million.

7. "The Divergent Series: Insurgent," $7.9 million.

8. "Pourquoi j'ai (pas) mange mon pere," $3.5 million.

9. "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water," $3.2 million.

10. "The Longest Ride," $3 million.

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP