“Dumb and Dumber To” and its brand of low-brow humor hit the box office with $1.6 million on Thursday night in 2,321 theaters.
The Universal comedy is expected to win the weekend with $30 million, unseating Disney’s animated family film “Big Hero 6.” The original “Dumb and Dumber brought in $127 million domestically and another $120 million overseas after opening to $16 million in 1994.
“Beyond the Lights” is the only other wide opener for the weekend. Relativity’s low-budget drama is expected to bring in between $8 million and $10 million in approximately 1,750 theaters.
“Dumb and Dumber To” won’t need critics to help its cause, which is good considering the film only has a 27 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The sequel returns stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels 20 years later as Lloyd and Harry on a quest to find Harry’s estranged daughter with a women briefly mentioned in the first film. The comedy also brings back directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly.
“Beyond the Lights,” is scoring better with critics, earning an 86 fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Love and Basketball”), the film the follows the story of emerging music supertar Noni, whose life changes when she meets Kaz Nicol, a young cop and aspiring politician who has been assigned to her detail.
The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw (“Belle,”), Nate Parker (“Non-Stop”), Minnie Driver, Richard Colson Baker and Danny Glover. Amar’e Stoudemire, who plays for the NBA’s New York Knicks and is represented by Relativity Sport, is one of the producers, along with Tephanie Allain and Reggie Rock Bythewood.