Box Office Preview: 'Fast Five' will race to No. 1

LOS ANGELES – Universal's "Fast Five," the fifth installment of the massively successful "Fast and Furious" franchise, is about to hit the streets with the biggest domestic opening of the year thus far. An expected IMAX-fueled $70 million-plus haul will easily give the film pole position on the weekend box office chart.

This latest "Fast and Furious" takes its classic street-racing formula and turns it into a relentless heist-and-drive thriller with a reunited cast and the addition of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The film has already shot to No. 2 overseas after only one weekend in a little more than 400 theaters.

Fox's "Rio" continues to draw audiences around the world and in the wake of a stunningly successful Easter weekend showing, should wind up in second place with just over $15 million in its third week of release. The family-friendly 3-D film has continued to do solid midweek business and will fly past the $100 million mark by Sunday night.

"Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family" from Lionsgate is likely to take the third spot with around $15 million in its second weekend out. Perry's box office track record speaks for itself with this latest installment of his "Madea"-themed films, earning $25.1 million in its Easter weekend debut.

Fox's "Water for Elephants" stars 'Twilight's" Robert Pattinson as a circus veterinarian reminiscing about his life during the Great Depression. Strong word-of-mouth and a devoted female fan base should keep the film in the box office bigtop for weeks to come and give it a fourth-place finish this weekend with a gross in the low teens.

Disney's debuting youth comedy "Prom" is an effective counter-programming alternative to the decidedly more intense "Fast Five." Preteens and teens alike will be attracted by the PG-rated film's high-school theme while the studio will be happy with the result, given the film's modest production budget. However, another PG-rated film, "Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil in 3-D from Weinstein Co., will battle "Prom" for the fifth place spot as both films are poised to earn in the $7 million to $9 million range.

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Paul Dergarabedian is president of the Box Office Division of Hollywood.com and a longtime box office analyst for The Associated Press.