'Fast Five' kicked into high gear at the weekend box office.

The action-packed sequel, the fifth in the 'Fast and the Furious' franchise, took in a whopping $83.6 million, setting a record for the best April opening ever. (April's previous owner was fittingly 2009's 'Fast and Furious, with $71 million.)

'Fast Five's' impressive debut was more than enough to dethrone last weekend's box office champ, 'Rio,' which this week earned a steady $14.4 million, putting it past the $100 million mark.

In third place was Tyler Perry's latest edition to the 'Madea' franchise, 'Madea's Big Happy Family,' which dropped a steep 60 percent from last week, with $10.1 million. 'Madea' was followed by the Robert Pattinson vehicle 'Water for Elephants,' which pulled in $9.1 million.

This weekend's other new releases, 'Prom' and 'Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil,' flat-out bombed at the box office, earning $5.0 million and $4.2 million, respectively.

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