‘Hobbs & Shaw’ is No. 1 but trails pace of ‘Fast & Furious’

NEW YORK — The first spinoff of the 18-year-old “Fast & Furious” franchise, “Hobbs & Shaw,” sped away with $180.8million in its worldwide debut, including $60.8 million domestically — a strong opening that dethroned “The Lion King” after a two-week reign at No. 1.

“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” teams two franchise regulars, Dwayne Johnson’s federal agent Luke Hobbs and mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), for an adventure outside the previous eight films. Those will resume next May with “Fast & Furious 9.”

The “Fast & Furious” films have developed into one of the most bankable series. “The Fate of the Furious” took in $1.2 billion in 2017. “Furious 7” made $1.5 billion in 2015.

The “Hobbs & Shaw” opening, hit expectations but is the smallest domestic debut for a “Fast & Furious” film since 2006’s “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.” But the $200 million release hopes to do better abroad. It grossed $120 million internationally over the weekend, without China, where “Fast & Furious” films have excelled. It opens there Aug. 23.

“The Lion King” slid to second in its third weekend with $38.2million. The Disney remake earlier this week crossed $1billion worldwide. Not accounting for inflation, this “Lion King” ($1.195billion) has now out-grossed the 1994 original ($968.5 million).

In its second weekend of release, Quentin Tarantino’s 1969 fable “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” held strong with $20million. Its reviews and early Oscar buzz should lead to a long run.