article: Furious 7 has raced to . the top of the domestic box office, picking up a massive $143.6 . million in its opening weekend. The film has also established a new high-water mark for the month of . April, blowing past the $95 million debut of Captain America: . The Winter Soldier, and now stands as the highest-grossing opening for any film in the Fast and Furious franchise. It also ranks . ninth among the top ten openings in history. Much as The Dark Knight turned into a memorial for Heath . Ledger, audiences flocked to see star Paul Walker in one of his . final roles. Scroll down for video . Furious 7 has raced to the top of the domestic box office chart, picking up a massive $143.6million in its opening weekend . Audiences flocked over the weekend to see actor Paul Walker in one of his final roles before his untimely death in 2013 at the age of 40 . The actor died in a 2013 car crash at the age of 40 . and his work on the film was completed using digital technology . and a series of stand-ins. 'This is a bittersweet installment in the franchise,' said . Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at . BoxOffice.com. '[Walker's] passing made this movie more . intriguing for people who hadn't seen some of the installments. It raised awareness and its success is a tribute to him.' Universal Pictures spared no expense in bringing the latest . chapter in the fast cars and gravity-defying-stunts series to . the big screen, shelling out $190 million on the production. It opened in 4,003 North American theaters, earning $14 million . on 365 Imax screens and $11.5 million from premium large format . screens. Going into the weekend, most analysts estimated that . the film would open in the $115 million range. Foreign numbers were just as strong. Internationally, the film . rolled out across 10,500 screens in 63 territories, earning . $240.4 million. 'This is the next member of the billion dollar club and . that's a rarefied place to be,' said Contrino. 'This thing is on . fire.' Furious 7 stars Tyrese Gibson as Roman, Michelle Rodriguez as Letty, Paul Walker as Brian and Chris Ludacris as Tej . 1. Furious 7, $143.6m . 2. Home, $27.4m . 3. Get Hard, $12.9m . 4. Cinderella, $10.3m . 5. The Divergent Series: Insurgent, $10m . 6. It Follows, $2.5m . 7. Woman in Gold, $2m . 8. Kingsman: The Secret Service, $1.7m . 9. Do You Believe, $1.5m . 10. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, $1m . With an A CinemaScore and strong reviews, Furious 7 could . be one of the few modern blockbusters that hangs on for more . than a few weeks. The month of April is lean on blockbuster fare . and Furious 7 won't get serious competition until The . Avengers: Age of Ultron debuts on May 1. The opening weekend crowd was impressively diverse, a . testament to a series that has drawn strength from its . multi-cultural cast. The audience was 51 percent male, 44 percent under age . 25, 37 percent Hispanic, 25 percent Caucasian, 24 percent African-American and 10 percent Asian. 'We're expanding our audience based on the diversity of . interest from different ethnic groups all buying into saga of . Dom Toretto and his family,' said Nick Carpou, Universal's . president of domestic distribution, referencing the character . played by Vin Diesel. Last weekend's box office champion, DreamWorks Animation's Home, showed impressive stamina, falling less than 50 percent. The . animated tale picked up $27.4 million in its second week, . pushing its domestic total to $95.6 million. In third place, R-rated comedy Get Hard earned $12.9 . million. The Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart team-up fell 62 percent from . its opening number, bringing its stateside haul to $57 million. Cinderella snagged a fourth place finish, picking up $10.3 . million stateside to push its domestic bounty to $167.3 million. Globally, the Disney release is closing in on $400 million. Walker died in a single-car accident on November 30, 2013 in his friend Roger Rodas's red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT . The car crashed into a concrete lamppost and two trees  in Santa Clarita, California, after which the vehicle burst into flames . The Divergent Series: Insurgent rounded out the weekend . top five, nabbing $10 million and driving the film to $103.4 . million domestically. Among art house releases, Noah Baumbach's While We're . Young expanded from four to 34 theaters, picking up $492,976. The A24 release has earned $791,450 in two weeks. Radius-TWC's It Follows also continued to expand, moving . from 1,218 to 1,655, though its gross dipped 35 percent to $2.5 . million. The critically adored horror film has made $8.5 million . since debuting on March 13. The Weinstein Company was particularly bullish on the . reception for Woman In Gold, a drama about the fight to . recover art stolen by the Nazis. The film picked up $2 million . from 258 locations and will expand to between 800 and 1,000 . venues this coming weekend. 'The film is definitely poised for a long, long run,' said . Erik Lomis, the studio's distribution chief. 'That's a really . solid start.' Thanks to Furious 7, the overall box office reached $218 . million, the first time that ticket sales have crossed $200 . million over the Easter weekend. 'These huge results jump start momentum for the blockbuster, . summer season, suggesting that 2015 is shaping up to be . everything (and maybe even more) that the industry has been . hoping for,' said Greg Foster, CEO of Imax Entertainment.
highlights: The latest installment in the Fast And Furious franchise has smashed box office records for the month of April .
  It ranks ninth among the top ten openings in cinema history with audiences flocking to Paul Walker in one of his final roles before his death in 2013 .
  Analysts had estimated that it would open in the $115 million range, but it managed to earn almost $30m more .
  Walker was killed in a single-car accident when his friend Roger Rodas's red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT hit a lamppost and burst into flames .
prediction: Furious 7 has 
   to 
   top 
   domestic box office, 
   up a 
   $143 
   its opening weekend 
   The film 
   a new high - water mark for 
   month 
   April 
   the $95 million debut of Captain America: . The Winter Soldier, and now stands as the highest - grossing opening for any film in the Fast and Furious franchise . It also ranks . ninth among the top ten openings in history . 
   Paul Walker 
   of his final 
   2013 at 
   40 
   died 
   million on 
   opened 
   6m 
  