LOS ANGELES:

Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are showing solid drawing power as “Hobbs & Shaw” heads for about $57 million in its opening weekend in North America, early estimates showed Friday.

That’s slightly below forecasts, which had been in the $60 million range for the first spinoff from the Fast & Furious universe, which has generated $5.1 billion in worldwide grosses since its launch in 2001. The eighth installment in the franchise, “The Fate of the Furious”, debuted with $98.7 million domestically on April 14-16 on its way to a $226 million North American total.

The third weekend of “The Lion King”, the latest Disney blockbuster, will finish second at about $37 million with about $430 million in its first 17 days – placing the reboot as the 21st highest domestic performers of all time as it passes “Captain Marvel” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”.

Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” should take the third slot at around $23 million, declining 44% following the director’s largest opening to date at $41.1 million for Sony. (RTRS)