The latest entry in the Fast & Furious street-racing franchise easily took the box office crown on a record-setting Memorial Day weekend, with an estimated $98.5 million over the 3-day weekend.  Second place went to another sequel, the “R"rated comedy The Hangover Part III, which opened on Thursday and earned an estimated $42.4 million over the 3-day weekend.  Last week’s winner Star Trek into Darkness fell just 46%, but slipped to third place with an estimated three-day total of $38 million.  Epic, the new family-oriented animated feature from Fox and Blue Sky Studios debuted in fourth place with $34.2 million, followed by Iron Man 3 with an estimated 3-day take of $19.4 million and The Great Gatsby with $13.7 million.  These six films were largely responsible for a new Memorial Day weekend record of $323 million, which obliterated the previous record total of $276 million in 2011.

Fast & Furious 6 basically brings back the cast of the highly successful fifth installment of the franchise for yet another series of unashamedly kinetic and wildly improbable effects-aided car chases spliced together with a minimum of narrative glue.  This latest installment in Universal’s most popular franchise, which features a young ethnically diverse cast, cut a wide demographic swath through Memorial Day audiences, attracting a crowd that was evenly gender-balanced with 49% women, 43% under 25, and 32% Latino.

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): May 24-26, 2013
	Film	Weekend Gross	Screens		Avg./ Screen	Total Gross	Wk#
1	Fast & Furious 6	$98,528,000		3,658	$26,935	$98,528,000	1
2	The Hangover Part III	$42,415,000		3,555	$11,931	$54,204,000	1
3	Star Trek Into Darkness	$38,000,000		3,907	$9,726	$146,827,000	2
4	Epic	$34,200,000		3,882	$8,810	$34,200,000	1
5	Iron Man 3	$19,424,000		3,424	$5,673	$367,506,000	4
6	The Great Gatsby	$13,705,000		3,090	$4,435	$114,432,000	3
7	Mud	$1,928,000		712	$2,708	$14,535,000	5
8	42	$1,245,000		915	$1,361	$91,049,000	7
9	The Croods	$1,215,000		1,008	$1,205	$179,238,000	10
10	Oblivion	$815,000		572	$1,425	$87,280,000	6

The Hangover Part III suffered from a "hangover" of its own--the reaction to Part II, which did huge business ($582 million worldwide) based on the popularity of the first film, but which also proved to be hugely disappointing.  Part II managed to earn a mammoth $135 million over its Thursday-through-Monday run, while Part III, which has taken in $54.2 million in its first four days, will be lucky to do half as well.

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness managed a strong hold as it slipped just 45.8% as it earned $38 million over the 3-day weekend.  But after 13 days STID still trails Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek with $146.8 million versus $152.2 million for the previous film.  Overseas, STID has also cooled off as Fast & Furious 6 was clearly the #1 film around the globe with an estimated 3-day global total of $275.5 million.  It is getting harder and harder to imagine a scenario in which the pricey Star Trek Into Darkness earns back its cost at the theatrical box office.

Fox’s generically-titled animated film Epic, which was produced for just $93 million, opened a bit above expectations and could take in $40 million for the four-day weekend.  With its only family-oriented animated competition The Croods fading, Epic should have the family film market all to itself until Pixar’s Monster University opens in late June.

Iron Man 3, which was bolstered by a new round of TV spots urging fans to see it again, dropped 46% as it brought its 2013-leading cumulative to $367.5 million through Sunday.  It now appears increasingly likely that IM3 will top $400 million.

Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby remains a solid alternative for female viewers.  On Thursday the movie roared past the $100 million mark, and it could remain in the cineplexes for another month or even longer.

The strong performances by the top six films reduced the rest of the top 10 to inconsequence.  In limited release Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight, which has a chance to become this summer’s indie surprise, opened with a per-theater average of $54,800 as it opened in five theaters.

Check back next week to see if either the post-apocalyptic Will Smith-powered After Earth, or Now You See Me, a fantasy about a group of Robin Hood magicians who rob banks and give the money away to their audiences, can unseat Fast & Furious 6.