The Steven Soderbergh-directed ‘Contagion,’ about a deadly and fast-spreading disease and the panic it causes, earned $23.1 million at theaters in its first week of release, relegating ‘The Help’ to a runner-up status. The mixed-martial arts action flick, ‘Warrior,’ came in third during its debut week, with ‘The Debt’ and ‘Columbiana’ rounding out the top five.

‘The Help’ earned $20.5 million, while ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ pulled in $16.3 million.

Last weekend’s top films, ‘The Smurfs’ and ‘Cowboys & Aliens,’ moved to the second and third-place slots.

Here’s a recap of all five of this weekend’s best box-office earners.

The blockbuster ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2′ dropped to fourth, earning a total of $318.4 million in the three weeks since its release, while ‘Friends with Benefits,’ ‘Horrible Bosses,’ and ‘Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon’ dropped out of the top five.

That number surpasses the previous record holder, ‘The Dark Knight,’ which opened to $158.4 million in 2008.

“I’m too old for cartwheels, but it’s close,” said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros.’ president for domestic distribution. “At the same time it’s bittersweet. It’s also the end of a great franchise, and we’ve watched these talented kids grow up.”

Coming in second, the Jennifer Aniston-featured dark comedy 'Horrible Bosses' earned an estimated $28.1 million, while the family flick 'Zookeeper' came in third with $21.0 million.

The sexy star may not have returned for the third installment in the franchise, but it didn't matter because director Michael Bay's latest offering took in $116.1 million over the four-day holiday weekend, en route to winning the box office battle.

That number marks the lowest opening for a superhero movie this summer, behind ‘Thor’ ($66 million) ‘X-Men: First Class’ ($56 million).

That was more than enough to edge out last week's champ, 'X-Men: First Class,' which dipped 55 percent to earn just $25.0 million.

Still, the Marvel reboot, which traced the beginnings of the 'X-Men' characters, managed to fall well below expectations, taking in just $56.0 million. To put things in perspective: That's the lowest debut by an 'X-Men' movie since the franchise launched in 2000, with $54.5 million.

The sequel to the 2009 smash comedy took in a whopping $105.8 million over four days, helping to make this weekend the biggest Memorial Day weekend ever at the box office.

Even better for 'Part II,' its $86.0 intake between Friday and Sunday was the highest ever for a comedy, and the second-highest for an R-rated movie, behind only 'The Matrix Reloaded.'

The Marvel superhero flick, starring breakout hunk Chris Hemsworth, took in an estimated $34.5 million, bringing its 10-day total to $119.3 million. Overall, 'Thor' was down 48 percent from last weekend, according to EW.com.

The superhero flick, which impressed most critics with its action-packed storyline and breakout performance by star Chris Hemsworth, took in an impressive $66 million, leaving the rest of the competition in the dust. Globally, the film has already grossed $242 million, according to Variety.

The action-packed sequel, the fifth in the 'Fast and the Furious' franchise, took in a whopping $83.6 million, setting a record for the best April opening ever. (April's previous owner was fittingly 2009's 'Fast and Furious, with $71 million.)

'Fast Five's' impressive debut was more than enough to dethrone last weekend's box office champ, 'Rio,' which this week earned a steady $14.4 million, putting it past the $100 million mark.

The film, which features the voice talent of comedian Russell Brand, vastly exceeded expectations at the box office with an impressive $38. 2 million, marking the highest weekend debut of the year.