Comedies reign over weekend box office in North America

LOS ANGELES, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Laughs reigned in U.S. and Canadian theaters this weekend as two comedy movies targeting different audiences took the top seats at the box office, eclipsing martial arts saga "The Forbidden Kingdom" that put Chinese heroes Jackie Chan and Jet Li together for first time.

    According to preliminary box office figures released Sunday, "Baby Mama," a comedy with two female leads released by Universal, took in an estimated 18.3 million dollars over the three-day period, followed by R-rated comedy "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay" with about 14.6 million dollars.

    Meanwhile, last week's box office leader "The Forbidden Kingdom" fell to the third place with 11.2 million dollars. The Lionsgate release have earned about 38.3 million dollars in North America after 10 days in release.

    "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," another Universal comedy already in theaters, also slipped two seats to No. 4 with 11 million dollars in its second weekend, while 20th Century Fox family adventure "Nim's Island" was steady at No. 5 with 4.5 million dollars.