'Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw' opens to $180m worldwide

The first spin-off from the Fast & Furious series, Hobbs & Shaw, has earned $180 million – nearly £150 million – worldwide on its opening weekend.

The movie made $60.8 million in the US, and a further $120 million internationally, with the movie still yet to open in China.

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It's a record opening for both its stars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, outside of the other Fast & Furious movies, though its still a way behind the others in the franchise.

That honour remains with The Fate of the Furious's eye-popping $541 million opening, followed by Fast & Furious 7's $398 million, but it's still the fifth biggest opening weekend of all time for the Universal studio.

Yesterday, Dwayne Johnson toasted movie-goers with a tequila for making it the best audience-rated movie in the F&F series on Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 90 percent (though Fast & Furious 7 remains the best-reviewed among critics).

The actioner finds Johnson's agent Luke Hobbs teaming up with former adversary Deckard Shaw (Statham) to take on genetically enhanced former MI6 man Brixton Lore, played by Idris Elba.

It's helmed by David Leitch, the ex-stuntman who made John Wick and then went on to direct Deadpool 2.

Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw is out now across the UK.