NEW YORK:

The first spinoff of the 18-year-old “Fast & Furious” franchise, “Hobbs & Shaw”, sped away with $180.8 million in its worldwide debut, including $60.8 million domestically – a strong opening that dethroned “The Lion King” after a twoweek reign at No. 1 but couldn’t match the box-office pace of recent “Fast & Furious” films.

“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” was crafted as a buddy-movie left turn for the car-mad franchise. It 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 in May with “Fast & Furious 9”.

The deviation came with a slight risk for Universal Pictures. The “Fast & Furious” films have developed into one of the most bankable series in Hollywood. The last two entries each grossed more than $1 billion. “The Fate of the Furious” took in $1.2 billion in 2017. “Furious 7” made $1.5 billion in 2015. (AP)