'Baby' steps to top of box office. Universal comedy nabs No. 1 spot
Universal's Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy "Baby Mama" easily delivered the No. 1 movie of the weekend, grossing an estimated $18.3 million from 2,543 theaters and giving the studio its first top opener of the year.
Comedy was the success story of the final sesh before summer, fueling a box office rebound. Two of the three laffers dominating the B.O. chart are from U.
There were chuckles all around as New Line and Warner Bros.' stoner sequel "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" placed second in its opening, grossing an estimated $14.6 million from 2,510 theaters, and U's own "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" placed No. 4 in grossing an estimated $11 million from 2,799 runs and declined just 38% in its second sesh, according to Rentrak.
Lionsgate's Jet Li-Jackie Chan adventure fantasy "Forbidden Kingdom" narrowly edged out "Sarah Marshall" to take the No. 3 spot, declining 48% in its second sesh to an estimated $11.2 million 3,151 runs.
Order of "Sarah Marshall," produced by Judd Apatow, and "Forbidden Kingdom" could be reversed when actual weekend numbers are posted Monday, with "Sarah Marshall" pulling ahead.
The weekend's other new wide release, "Deception," fared dismally. Produced by Arnold-Rifkin and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the Hugh Jackman-Ewan McGregor thriller grossed a meager $2.2 million from 2,001 runs to place No. 10.
"Baby Mama" scored the second-best opening for a romantic comedy in April, underscoring the popularity of Fey and Poehler, who worked together on "Saturday Night Live."
Women showed up in droves for "Baby Mama," rated PG-13.
It is unusual for a studio to open two comedies back-to-back. U said the stellar hold of the R-rated "Sarah Marshall" shows that it wasn't hurt by the entry of "Baby Mama," and vice versa. "Sarah Marshall" appealed to men more than "Baby Mama."
Among Apatow's raunchy rom coms, "Sarah Marshall" had a better hold than "Superbad," which declined 45% in its second weekend, but fell more than either "Knocked Up," which declined 36% in its second frame, or "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," which declined 24%.
"Sarah Marshall" opened the previous weekend to No. 2, grossing $17.7 million.
On the specialty side, Samuel Goldwyn Films' French drama "Roman de gare" scored a per screen average of $12,773, grossing an estimated $25,454 from two locations in Gotham and L.A.
ThinkFilm's dramedy "Then She Found Me," directed by and starring Helen Hunt, posted a per screen average of $8,226 in grossing an estimated $74,395 from nine theaters in L.A. and Gotham.
Errol Morris' docu "Standard Operating Procedure," about the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, grossed an estimated $14,916 from two theaters for a per screen average of $7,458.
Overture holdover "The Visitor" continued to play strongly as it expanded to 76 theaters, grossing an estimated $508,000 for a per screen average of $6,684. Pic showed a 100% Friday-to-Saturday increase.
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60% Baby Mama 
57% Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
63% The Forbidden Kingdom 
85% Forgetting Sarah Marshall 
48% Nim's Island 
12% Deception 
