Twenty years later, comedians Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reunite with a bang in Dumb and Dumber To!
The Farrelly Brothers-directed sequel scored a solid $38.1 million, landing in first place at the box office. This marks as Carrey’s largest debut since 2003’s Bruce Almighty, as well as being the brothers’ best showing of their career.
“Dumb and Dumber was a beloved film on home entertainment, and people wanted to be entertained. It’s escapism,” said Universal distribution chief Nikki Rocco.
Costing under $40 million to make, Dumb and Dumber To follows the dim-witted friends as they search for Lloyd’s daughter in hopes that she can give him a kidney. Back for the sequel, alongside Carrey and Daniels, are Kathleen Turner, Laurie Holden, Rob Riggle, Cam Neely and Brady Bluhm.
Audience members, who were 55 percent male and 57 percent under the age of 25, gave the film a B minus CinemaScore. While reviews were fairly low, with critics giving it a 27 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it was the “strong brand that drew people and the nostalgia,” said Rentrak analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
Last weekend’s victor, Big Hero 6, finished in second place with $36 million from 3,773 locations, while Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi flick Interstellar landed in third place with $29.2 million from 3,561 theaters. The former has a domestic total of $111.7 million, and the latter has accumulated $97.8 million domestically.
The weekend’s other wide release was romance drama Beyond the Lights, with $6.5 million for a fourth place landing. The film tells the story of superstar singer Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) on the rise who falls for a cop (Nate Parker) after he saves her from a suicide attempt. Costing $7 million to produce, Beyond the Lights earned an A CinemaScore from audiences.
Rounding out the top five is David Fincher’s Gone Girl, with $4.6 million, for a cumulative total of $157.7 million since opening last month.
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: November 14-16
- Dumb and Dumber To – $38.1 million
- Big Hero 6 – $36 million
- Interstellar – $29.2 million
- Beyond the Lights – $6.5 million
- Gone Girl – $4.6 million
- St. Vincent – $4 million
- Fury – $3.8 million
- Nightcrawler – $3 million
- Ouija – $3 million
- Birdman – $2.5 million
