17 November,2014: Dumb and Dumber To, the intentionally misspelt sequel to Jim Carrey’s 1994 comedy, has topped the US box office chart on its first weekend in cinemas.
The farce, which sees Carrey’s Lloyd Christmas reunited with Jeff Daniels’ Harry Dunne, made an estimated $38.1m (£24.3m) between Friday and Sunday.
The film edged out Disney animation Big Hero 6, which made $36m (£23m) in its second weekend in the US and Canada.
Space exploration epic Interstellar fell one place to three.
Directed by film-making siblings Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Dumb and Dumber To arrived in cinemas almost 20 years on from its hit predecessor.
Neither Carrey nor Daniels appeared in a prequel, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, that was released in 2003 without the Farrellys’ involvement.
Romantic drama
The sequel, which took years to get off the ground, helped Carrey achieve his most successful debut in a live-action film since that year’s Bruce Almighty.
“The timing was right for a comedy of this nature, one with broad appeal,” said Nikki Rocco, of distributor Universal Pictures.
Big Hero 6’s performance has helped Disney surpass $4bn (£2.5m) in global sales for only the second year in its history.
The milestone was reached thanks to the success of such titles as Frozen, Maleficent, Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Interstellar, about astronauts seeking a new planet for humankind to inhabit, made an estimated $29.2m (£18.6m) in the US and Canada on its third weekend on release.
An ongoing international roll-out saw Christopher Nolan’s film make an additional $106m (£67.7m) outside those territories, thanks in part to a strong opening in China.
Romantic drama Beyond the Lights made a modest debut in this week’s US and Canada chart, opening at four with weekend takings of $6.5m (£4.1m).
The film, about a troubled R&B singer who finds solace in a policeman on her security detail, stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, seen earlier this year in Belle.
David Fincher’s thriller Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, completes this week’s top five.
Source:BBC
