'Fast and Furious' breaks out at No. 1

LOS ANGELES, April 6 (UPI) -- "Fast and Furious" could describe how U.S. theaters raked in the cash when the action movie opened this weekend at No. 1, Box Office Mojo said Sunday.

The auto theft film, starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, sold an estimated $72.51 million in tickets in its first weekend.

That pushed last weekend's top movies down a peg: "Monsters Vs. Aliens" was No. 2 at $33.51 million, "The Haunting in Connecticut" No. 3 at $9.55 million, "Knowing" No. 4 at $8.13 million and "I Love You, Man" No. 5 at $7.85 million.

A new comedy, "Adventureland," starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kelsey Ford, Michael Zegen and Ryan McFarland, opened at No. 6 with $6.01 million in estimated gate receipts.

Rounding out the first tier were "Duplicity" at $4.3 million, "Race to Witch Mountain" with $3.35 million, "12 Rounds" with $2.3 million and "Sunshine Cleaning," which moved up from No. 11 with $1.88 million in its fourth week. "Sunshine" is a crime comedy written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs. It stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin and Jason Spevacek.

Missing this week are "Taken," "The Last House on the Left" and "Watchmen."