LOS ANGELES, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Universal's action movie "Fast& Furious" conquered the box office race this weekend in North America with 72.5 million dollars, making it Hollywood's best opening weekend of the year so far, figures released on Sunday showed.

Actor Paul Walker arrives for the British premiere of "Fast & Furious" in Leicester Square in London March 19, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The fourth installment of the "Fast & Furious" franchise features the four stars of the 2001 original, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, in a reunion that gave the film huge appeal and ratcheted up the "must-see" factor for its fan base.

Actor Jordana Brewster arrives for the British premiere of "Fast & Furious" in Leicester Square in London March 19, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    In the new film, Walker's character is released from prison to team up Diesel's to work with the U.S. government in bringing down a heroin importer by infiltrating his operation.

    Last week's box office leader, DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens," slipped to second place with 33.5 million dollars. The animated comedy has grossed 105.7 million dollars since its release two weeks ago, according to Los Angeles-based box office tracker Media By Numbers.

    Also in its second week in release, Liongate's horror film "The Haunting in Connecticut" pulled in 9.6 million dollars, placing third in estimated sales for a total of 37.7 million dollars over the last two weeks.

    Rounding out the top five films this weekend were Nicolas Cage's sci-fi thriller "Knowing" with 8.1 million dollars and Paramount comedy "I Love You, Man" with 7.9 million dollars.

Actor Vin Diesel arrives for the British premiere of "Fast & Furious" in Leicester Square in London March 19, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The remarkable performance of the new "Fast & Furious" made one of the biggest box office surprises in Hollywood's recent memory, helping the overall weekend box office in North America hit 160 million dollars, up 68 percent from the same period last year.