NEW YORK — A South India sensation, a Hispanic-focused comedy and the highest-grossing film ever directed by an African-American made up the top three films on a culturally diverse box office weekend.

As expected, it was another runaway weekend for “The Fate of the Furious,” which took No. 1 for the third straight week with $19.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Universal Pictures release also throttled past $1 billion globally, and passed its predecessor, “Furious 7,” to become the highest-grossing imported film in China with $361 million.

"The Fate of the Furious" features a diverse cast including Ludacris, seated left, Nathalie Emmanuel, seated right, Tyrese Gibson and Dwayne Johnson (center). Matt Kennedy/Universal Pictures via AP

The “Fast and the Furious” franchise, the latest of which is helmed by F. Gary Gray, has always been held up as a model of the diverse blockbuster, given its cast led by Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. But the smaller films that trailed it over the weekend also reflected the box-office might of often underserved audiences.

In second domestically with $12 million and drawing an overwhelmingly Hispanic crowd was Eugenio Derbez’s comedy, “How to Be a Latin Lover.” The film is easily the biggest success yet for Pantelion, the Latino-oriented joint venture of Lionsgate and Grupo Televisa.

“How to Be a Latin Lover” co-stars Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe and Kristen Bell. But its top draw is Derbez, whose “Instructions Not Included” was the highest-grossing Spanish-language film in North America in 2013. The audience for “How to be a Latin Lover” was 89 percent Hispanic.

In third was “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion,” a so-called Tollywood (Telugu language) film from South India.

– Associated Press

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