( EW.com ) -- Here 's what the Memorial Day weekend taught us : America really likes the `` Fast & Furious '' franchise , but America loves movies . The four-day holiday racked up $ 314 million in receipts , the largest-ever Memorial Day weekend at the box office . As for `` Fast 6 , '' it 's hard to talk about the successful opening without resorting to cliché . Despite hitting theaters in a crowded May marketplace , the Universal film earned an estimated $ 120,019,000 , the fourth-highest Memorial Day opening in history , for a per-theater average of $ 33,400 . That 's the second-biggest opening this year , behind Iron Man 3 , and a sizable leap from the trajectory of the previous two Fasts ( and most predictions ) . The franchise 's appeal seems to be growing in reverse ( we wrote a cover story on it ! ) , getting bigger with each film . The newest installment earned an `` A '' CinemaScore ( `` A+ '' from audiences under 25 ) with an almost even split between men and women ( 51/49 percent ) . Conventionally , that would indicate that `` Fast 6 '' will hold up better than the typical tent pole — however , Fast Five also earned an `` A '' and good reviews while still dropping more than 60 percent in its second weekend . That said , it still would n't affect the success of the latest film so far : Fast & Furious 6 has grossed $ 317 million globally against a $ 160 million budget . And in case you have n't heard : `` Fast 7 '' is coming soon . Speaking of big-budget , male-skewing films : `` The Hangover Part III '' earned an estimated $ 51,215,000 over the four-day weekend , for a per-theater average of $ 14,406 , and $ 63 million since Thursday . That 's hardly nothing — especially for a hard-R comedy , which has a notoriously rocky record at the box office . But the $ 100 million film 's `` B '' CinemaScore and middling reviews indicate that word-of-mouth wo n't help subsequent weekend grosses . From here , it 's hard to see Part III matching the $ 250+ million grosses of the first two films , though strong foreign sales should help Warner Bros. overcome the sting . The weekend 's third wide release , `` Epic , '' topped expectations with an estimated $ 42,600,000 for the four-day and a per-theater average of $ 10,974 . Tracking suggested an opening in the mid-30s , but the Blue Sky film had a plum release spot at the start of the tent pole season without any major family-friendly competition . Good reviews and an `` A '' CinemaScore suggest real legs , which means `` Epic '' could finish with more than $ 150 million domestically on a $ 93 million budget . Last week 's `` Star Trek Into Darkness '' earned an estimated $ 44 million for the long weekend , which softens its second week drop to 33 percent and an overall domestic gross of $ 155.8 million . The well-reviewed but maligned sequel may not top the previous film 's gross of $ 257.7 million , but it should easily top $ 200 million . `` Iron Man 3 '' earned an estimated $ 24,351,000 , lifting its total domestic gross to $ 372.4 million . With a new director and a surge of post- '' Avengers '' buzz , the third `` Iron Man '' has already beaten the previous two installments and is on track for a domestic finish above $ 400 million . In limited release , Richard Linklater 's critically-acclaimed romantic drama `` Before Midnight '' opened with a per-theater average of $ 64,400 at five theaters . 1 . Fast & Furious 6 — $ 120 million . 2 . The Hangover Part III — $ 51.2 million . 3 . Star Trek Into Darkness — $ 47 million . 4 . Epic — $ 42.6 million . 5 . Iron Man 3 — $ 24.4 million . Check back next week when Will Smith 's post-apocalyptic `` After Earth '' opens against the Jesse Eisenberg thriller `` Now You See Me . '' See the original story at EW.com . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved .
Four-day holiday racked up the largest-ever Memorial Day weekend at the box office . `` Fast & Furious 6 '' earned an estimated more than $ 120 million . `` The Hangover Part III '' came in second place with $ 51.2 million .