LOS ANGELES — Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw dethroned The Lion King in North American theatres, taking in an estimated US$60.8 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said on Sunday.

The latest installment in the long-running Fast & Furious franchise, Hobbs & Shaw features Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Jason Statham facing off against "cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist" Idris Elba.

It ended the box office reign of The Lion King, a remake of the 1994 animated film that employs hyper-realistic computer-generated images with a voice cast including Donald Glover as Simba and Beyonce as Nala, together with Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor and James Earl Jones.

The Lion King earned $38.2 million for second place, topping director Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, which has earned rave reviews and took in $20 million for third place.

Once Upon a Time - the ninth of the 10 movies Tarantino has said he will make before retiring - is set in Tinseltown in 1969 and features Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Al Pacino.

In fourth place was Toy Story 4, which managed $8.2 million.

The latest installment in the family-friendly Disney/Pixar animation franchise that began in 1995, the movie features the voices of Tom Hanks (Woody) and Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear).

Spider-Man: Far from Home - which continues where Avengers: Endgame left off and stars Tom Holland as the Marvel superhero - came in fifth with $7.8 million. — AFP