Duo Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg snatched the box office crown from Leonardo DiCaprio on Sunday as brand new cop comedy “The Other Guys” sold approximately 35.6 million in tickets according to the film’s distributor.
The opening marks the second-highest of Ferrell’s career and a huge turnaround from “Land of the Lost” which flopped last summer.
Wahlberg achieved his best opening since 2001′s “Planet of the Apes” remake which began with takings of $68.5 million in a rare foray into comedy.
In “The Other Guys,” Ferrell and Wahlberg play mismatched underdogs hunting down a con artist, played by English comedian Steve Coogan.
Reviews were strong for the $85 million film which was good news for Ferrell who suffered poor openings for both “Land of the Lost” ($18.8 million) and 2008′s “Semi-Pro” ($15.5 million).
His most successful opening remains the 2006 comedy “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” which took $47 million.
Following three number one weekends, DiCaprio’s dreams thriller “Inception” fell to number two with $18.6 million, taking the total for the hit release to $227.7 million after four weekends.
Walt Disney release “Step Up 3D,” opened in third position with $15.5 million but that figure was well below its predecessors, even with the additional revenue from 3D screenings.
Also in the top five were Angelina Jolie spy thriller “Salt” with $11.1 million, and Steve Carell comedy “Dinner for Schmucks” with $10.5 million. Their respective totals grew to $92 million after three weekends, and $46.7 million after two.
The acclaimed comedy-drama “The Kids are All Right” finally broke into the top 10 after five weekends, rising two places with $2.6 million.
