April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Universal Pictures’ action sequel “Fast & Furious” posted the best opening weekend of 2009 with $71 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, extending a string of hits as Hollywood runs up the box-office tally.

Sales for the weekend’s top two films surpassed $100 million as “Monsters vs. Aliens” hauled in $32.6 million, researcher Media By Numbers LLC said today. The 3-D animation feature from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. had the year’s previous best with a $59.3 million debut last weekend.

To date in 2009, domestic ticket revenue has climbed 15 percent from a year earlier to $2.57 billion, while attendance has risen 12.8 percent. The industry may reach a record this year, said Media By Numbers President Paul Dergarabedian.

“We’ve had the first billion-dollar January, the biggest February ever and now a record-breaking opening for the beginning of April,” Dergarabedian said. “Summer is just around the corner and maybe the first $10 billion year could be reached if we continue at this pace.”

The record for domestic ticket sales was $9.68 billion in 2007. Box office revenue fell to about $9.6 billion in 2008.

Big-budget sequels scheduled for the U.S. summer season include “Star Trek,” from Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures, and installments of “Harry Potter” and “Terminator” from Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros.

Diesel’s Return

“Fast & Furious” is the first film from General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal to open at No. 1 this year and is the fourth in the series about illegal street racing. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, stars of the original “The Fast and the Furious,” return for the first time since the original film to reprise their roles for the latest version. Diesel made a cameo appearance in “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” in 2006.

“Fast & Furious” had the biggest April opening ever, beating the previous record of $42.3 million set in 2003 with “Anger Management,” starring Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler.

“We usually don’t see these types of opening numbers this time of year,” Dergarabedian said. “These really look like summer numbers.”

‘Haunting in Connecticut’

In “Fast & Furious,” an undercover cop played by Walker joins forces with Diesel’s character, a former convict. The first three films generated $334.2 million at theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to Box Office Mojo LLC.

“Monsters vs. Aliens,” distributed for DreamWorks by Paramount, has taken in $104.8 million since it opened on March 27. In the movie, a group of monsters is called on to battle invaders from outer space.

“Adventureland,” from Walt Disney Co.’s Miramax Films, also opened this weekend, taking in $5.72 million to finish in sixth place. The film from “Superbad” director Greg Mottola stars Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg as students who get summer jobs at a run-down amusement park.

Receipts for the top 12 movies this weekend rose 86 percent to $149 million from a year earlier, Los Angeles-based Media By Numbers said.

“The Haunting in Connecticut” fell to third place from second with $9.48 million. The Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. film stars Virginia Madsen and Kyle Gallner and follows a family’s move to a house.

“Knowing” fell to fourth from third with sales of $8.15 million. The Summit Entertainment LLC movie stars Nicolas Cage as a professor who uncovers a document that foretells disasters.

The buddy comedy “I Love You, Man” fell to fifth from fourth, making $7.72 million. The film, distributed by Paramount, stars Paul Rudd as a prospective groom who embarks on a series of “man dates” to find a best man.

The following table has figures provided by studios to Media by Numbers. The amounts are based on actual ticket sales from April 3 to April 5.

                              Rev.             Avg./    Pct.   Total
Movie                         (mln) Theaters  Theater    Chg.  (mln)   Wks
==========================================================================
1 FAST & FURIOUS              71.0    3,461   20,500     --     71.0    1
2 MONSTERS VS. ALIENS         32.6    4,109    7,936    -45    104.8    2
3 THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT  9.5    2,732    3,471    -59     37.2    2
4 KNOWING                      8.1    3,323    2,451    -45     58.2    3
5 I LOVE YOU, MAN              7.7    2,829    2,730    -39     49.2    3
6 ADVENTURELAND                5.7    1,862    3,073     --      5.7    1
7 DUPLICITY                    4.2    2,522    1,655    -46     32.3    3
8 RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN       3.2    2,825    1,137    -45     58.2    4
9 12 ROUNDS                    2.3    2,331      970    -58      9.0    2
10 SUNSHINE CLEANING           1.8      479    3,773     42      4.7    4
11 TAKEN                       1.5    1,355    1,140    -43    139.4    1
12 THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT  1.3    1,305      965    -52     30.7    4

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite@bloomberg.net; Patricia Hurtado in New York at phurtado@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 6, 2009 18:33 EDT