It was Fast & Furious 6 that really drove this weekend's box office.

The sixth film in the action movie franchise sped to the No. 1 spot with $122.2 million over the holiday weekend. The film was able to overtake another sequel, The Hangover Part III, which had only $52 million. It was less than half of Fast & Furious 6, according to Hollywood.com studio estimates.

That haul marks the highest-grossing debut for a film in the franchise, and opening weekend for Universal Pictures, The Los Angeles Times reported. It is also the second-highest debut this year, after Iron Man 3, which made $175.3 million at its opening.

Fast & Furious 6 is also poised to be a huge hit abroad. After debuting first in 59 foreign markets, projections suggest it will make another $150 million.

Before its release, analysts had projected the film to make only $80 million. However, the movie propelled business Memorial Day weekend, considered Hollywood's most important outside of Thanksgiving. Theaters raked in $323 million, well above the previous record of $277 million in 2011.

The Hangover Part III got raked -- over the coals by movie critics -- but held on to its place ahead of third-place finisher Star Trek Into Darkness. Star Trek made $48 million this weekend, and over $156 million in the American box office since its May 16 release.

Family film Epic, the weekend's other major opener, took fourth, but also defied expectations. After a Friday opening day of $9.4 million, the film was poised to take in $40 million, above the estimates of only $35 million.

Iron Man 3 is still a draw even after almost a month in release, rounding out the top five with $24.6 million.

The Fast & Furious series, in existence since 2001, has earned over $1.6 billion worldwide. A seventh film is scheduled for release July 11, 2014.

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