Two new comedies dominated the North American charts as Universal's Baby Mama launched at number one on estimated $18.3m followed by New Line/Warner Bros' Harold And Kumar sequel on $14.6m.
Box office was up for the second consecutive weekend as the top 12 titles combined for $91m and climbed 17% against the same period last year.
Year-on-year the cumulative box office trails 2007 by approximately 2.7% at $2.59bn, however the release next weekend of Paramount's Iron Man may well resuscitate the box office when it ushers in the summer blockbuster season.
Saturday Night Live alumnus Tina Fey stars in Baby Mama opposite her longtime comedy compadre Amy Poehler as a career woman who hires a surrogate. Sigourney Weaver and Steve Martin provide entertaining cameos.
New Line's comedy Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay sees Kal Penn and John Cho reprise their roles as the hapless stoners who end up in the notorious US prison after they are suspected of being terrorists.
The launch will please Warner Bros, which is distributing New Line films now, given that the film has taken almost as much as its predecessor did in its entire run. Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle launched on $5.5m in seventh place on July 30 2004 and amassed $18.3m by the end of its run.
Last weekend's champion The Forbidden Kingdom slipped to third on $11.2m for $38.3m through Lionsgate and TWC while Universal's comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall fell two places to fourth and stands at $35.1m after two weekends.
With Baby Mama in play and the prospect of further competition when Sony's romantic comedy Made Of Honor launches next weekend - to say nothing of Iron Man - Forgetting Sarah Marshall looks destined to become a rare Judd Apatow disappointment at the box office.
The only other film to break into the top ten was Fox's thriller Deception, which flopped in 10th place on $2.2m after dire reviews. Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams and Hugh Jackman star.
Focus Features' drama Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day added $140,766 from 222 theatres for $12m while the dark comedy In Bruges added $77,454 from 87 for $7.4m.
Samuel Goldwyn Films' Roman De Gare, Claude Lelouch's new thriller, launched on two New York screens and grossed $25,545 for an impressive $12,772 per-screen average. It expands to five markets on May 9 and reaches Los Angeles a week later. Samuel Goldwyn Films' comedy Hors De Prix (Priceless) with Audrey Tautou has grossed $1.1m.
Overture Films' drama The Visitor added $508,000 for $856,579 after three weekends.
Next weekend's wide releases are Paramount's superhero epic Iron Man from Marvel Studios starring Robert Downey Jr, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow; and Sony's romantic comedy Made Of Honor with Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan.
Estimated Top 10 North America Apr 25-27, 2008
Film (Dist)/Int'l dist/Est wkd gross/Est total to date
1 (-) Baby Mama (Universal) UPI $18.3m -
2 (-) Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (Warner Bros/New Line) NLI $14.6m -
3 (1) The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate/TWC) TWC/Mandate
Int'l/Relativity $11.2m $38.3m
4 (2) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) UPI $11m $35.1m
5 (5) Nim's Island (Fox) Summit Entertainment $4.5m $38.9m
6 (3) Prom Night (Screen Gems) SPRI $4.4m $38.1m
7 (6) 21 (Sony) SPRI $4m $75.8m
8 (4) 88 Minutes (Sony) Nu Image $3.6m $12.6m
9 (8) Dr Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (Fox) Fox Int'l $2.4m $147.9m
10 (-) Deception (Fox) Summit Entertainment $2.2m -
Box office was up for the second consecutive weekend as the top 12 titles combined for $91m and climbed 17% against the same period last year.
Year-on-year the cumulative box office trails 2007 by approximately 2.7% at $2.59bn, however the release next weekend of Paramount's Iron Man may well resuscitate the box office when it ushers in the summer blockbuster season.
Saturday Night Live alumnus Tina Fey stars in Baby Mama opposite her longtime comedy compadre Amy Poehler as a career woman who hires a surrogate. Sigourney Weaver and Steve Martin provide entertaining cameos.
New Line's comedy Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay sees Kal Penn and John Cho reprise their roles as the hapless stoners who end up in the notorious US prison after they are suspected of being terrorists.
The launch will please Warner Bros, which is distributing New Line films now, given that the film has taken almost as much as its predecessor did in its entire run. Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle launched on $5.5m in seventh place on July 30 2004 and amassed $18.3m by the end of its run.
Last weekend's champion The Forbidden Kingdom slipped to third on $11.2m for $38.3m through Lionsgate and TWC while Universal's comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall fell two places to fourth and stands at $35.1m after two weekends.
With Baby Mama in play and the prospect of further competition when Sony's romantic comedy Made Of Honor launches next weekend - to say nothing of Iron Man - Forgetting Sarah Marshall looks destined to become a rare Judd Apatow disappointment at the box office.
The only other film to break into the top ten was Fox's thriller Deception, which flopped in 10th place on $2.2m after dire reviews. Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams and Hugh Jackman star.
Focus Features' drama Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day added $140,766 from 222 theatres for $12m while the dark comedy In Bruges added $77,454 from 87 for $7.4m.
Samuel Goldwyn Films' Roman De Gare, Claude Lelouch's new thriller, launched on two New York screens and grossed $25,545 for an impressive $12,772 per-screen average. It expands to five markets on May 9 and reaches Los Angeles a week later. Samuel Goldwyn Films' comedy Hors De Prix (Priceless) with Audrey Tautou has grossed $1.1m.
Overture Films' drama The Visitor added $508,000 for $856,579 after three weekends.
Next weekend's wide releases are Paramount's superhero epic Iron Man from Marvel Studios starring Robert Downey Jr, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow; and Sony's romantic comedy Made Of Honor with Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan.
Estimated Top 10 North America Apr 25-27, 2008
Film (Dist)/Int'l dist/Est wkd gross/Est total to date
1 (-) Baby Mama (Universal) UPI $18.3m -
2 (-) Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (Warner Bros/New Line) NLI $14.6m -
3 (1) The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate/TWC) TWC/Mandate
Int'l/Relativity $11.2m $38.3m
4 (2) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) UPI $11m $35.1m
5 (5) Nim's Island (Fox) Summit Entertainment $4.5m $38.9m
6 (3) Prom Night (Screen Gems) SPRI $4.4m $38.1m
7 (6) 21 (Sony) SPRI $4m $75.8m
8 (4) 88 Minutes (Sony) Nu Image $3.6m $12.6m
9 (8) Dr Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (Fox) Fox Int'l $2.4m $147.9m
10 (-) Deception (Fox) Summit Entertainment $2.2m -
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