Elsa Patacky and Vin Diesel in "Fast Five." (Universal Pictures/AP)

“Fast Five” made so much money in its opening weekend (an estimated $83.6 million) that the “Fast and Furious” franchise looks guaranteed to continue.

Other sequels, however, did not fare as well.

Here’s a quick rundown of what we learned from the weekend box office results, complete with a rundown of the top five money-makers and a poll that asks you to boldly predict whether a movie other than “Thor” will be No. 1 next weekend.

“Fast Five” confirms our hypothesis that people love hot cars and loud explosions: Okay, so we all pretty much knew that about hot cars and loud explosions. Still, we didn’t know moviegoers liked those things this much, especially when they involve Vin Diesel. That $83.6 million haul for the fifth “Fast and Furious” flick marks the largest debut in the franchise. It also was the most impressive opening of 2011 so far, and the third highest-grossing non-summer or holiday weekend in history, according to Box Office Mojo. Given the producers’ interest in continuing the franchise, this performance practically guarantees that more “Fast and Furious” movies await us.

Overall, this is quite an accomplishment for a movie that was written by a five-year-old. (Actually, it was written by Chris Morgan, who is not 5. But this Onion video makes me laugh, so it’s fun to pretend it actually reflects reality.)

“Hoodwinked” will not be a trilogy: The sequel to the animated fractured fairy tale was not met with the same enthisiasm as “Fast Five.” “Hoodwinked Too!: Hood vs. Evil” earned only $4.1 million, landing in sixth place for the weekend.

Movies about going to prom are apparently met with as much enthusiasm as prom itself: “Pretty in Pink” may be an exception in this regard. But Disney’s “Prom” — which featured Aimee Teagarden of “Friday Night Lights” — was not. It opened in fifth place with just $5 million on more than 2700 screens. Of course, it reportedly only cost $8 million to make, so things could be worse.

People don’t care about the Easter Bunny once Easter is over: “Hop’s” business dropped by 79 percent. It still made $2.5 million over the weekend, raising its total haul to $105.2 million.

However, people do still care about animated macaws: “Rio” demonstrated some staying power by landing in second place, with $14.4 million for the weekend and $103.6 million total.

Here are your top five movies:

1. “Fast Five” — $83.6 million

2. “Rio” — $14.4 million

3. “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family” — $10 million

4. “Water for Elephants” — $9.1 million

5. “Prom” — $5 million

Now, here’s your opportunity to vote for next weekend’s box office winner: