The Associated Press

The street-racing sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious won the pole position at the box office, taking in an estimated $52.1 million in its opening weekend.

The follow up to the 2001 hit The Fast and the Furious, bumped the previous weekend's top film, the animated deep-sea adventure Finding Nemo, which slipped to second place with an estimated $45.8 million.

2 Fast 2 Furious beat the $40.1 million opening weekend of The Fast and the Furious despite the absence of action star Vin Diesel, who did not return for the sequel. The new movie again features Paul Walker, this time paired with Tyrese Gibson, as a street racer infiltrating a smuggling ring among Miami hot-rodders.

With or without Diesel, "the cars are the stars," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, which released both movies. "It's a great, multicultural, exciting little piece of entertainment. Just what teenagers are looking for."

Three-fourths of the audience was younger than 25, and 2 Fast 2 Furious drew a broad ethnic mix, with Hispanics making up 38 percent of viewers and blacks accounting for 16 percent.

Finding Nemo, whose $70.3 million debut a week earlier was the best ever for an animated film, pushed its 10-day total to $143.3 million. That was about $21 million ahead of the 10-day total of Monsters, Inc., the previous record-holder for best animated debut.

Likely hits arriving over the next month include The Hulk, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.

Enquirer review of 2 Fast 2 Furious