Fast & Furious, the fourth movie in the gear head franchise has notched up a spectacular box office win in the US, taking first place with $72.5 million.

That sound you hear is Universal surely revving up a fifth outing as the film is – quirky US box office stats warning – the biggest non-holiday three-day weekend for the company.

That shoved Monsters Vs Aliens (which dropped a not-too shabby 43%) down to second place with $33.5 million, while The Haunting In Connecticut slipped to third with $9.5 million.

Nic Cage apocalyto-thriller Knowing dropped to fourth, taking $8.1 million, while I Love You, Man settled into fifth with $7.8 million.

Opening just outside the top five – but still with a healthy take given that it was at least in 1,000 cinemas less than the others – Adventureland made $6 million on its first weekend.

Your full top 10, then…

Fast And Furious ($75.2 million)
Monsters Vs Aliens ($33.5 million)
The Haunting In Connecticut ($9.5 million)
Knowing ($8.1 million)
I Love You, Man ($7.8 million)
Adventureland ($6.1 million)
Duplicity ($4.3 million)
Race To Witch Mountain ($3.3 million)
12 Rounds ($2.3 million)
Sunshine Cleaning ($1.9 million)

[Data source: Box Office Mojo]