'Dumb And Dumber To' Dominates, Jim Carrey Gets Last Laugh After String Of Poorly Performing Films

Although "Dumb and Dumber To," the sequel to the Farrelly brothers' 20-year-old smash hit starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, received a "0" score on Metacritic from Indiewire's Drew Taylor and is described by the New York Post's Sara Stewart as "awful to women, gays, Asians, the elderly, animals, scientists" and even Kathleen Turner -- the Red Granite Pictures-produced and Universal Pictures-distributed film managed to top the box office this weekend. The comedy pulled in $38.1 million, Variety reported. It's vindication for Carrey, whose previous films “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” and “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” did less than stellar business at the box office.

“The stars aligned with this release date,” said Nikki Rocco, Universal Pictures' distribution chief, who attributed part of the film's success to the dearth of comedies in the past few months.

"Dumb and Dumber To" beat out last weekend's winner, Disney's animated adventure “Big Hero 6,” about a giant inflatable robot, which brought in $36 million, bringing its two-week total to $111.6 million.

Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" took in $29.2 million in ticket sales, and now totals $97.8 million in domestic sales.

"Beyond the Lights," about a suicidal pop star who falls in love with one of her security guards, made the fourth place spot at the box office, bringing in $6.5 million.

"Gone Girl," which has earned $152.7 million since its release last month, made $4.6 million, while "St. Vincent" brought in $4 million, with total sales at $30 million. The Brad Pitt-led WWII drama "Fury" took in $3.8 million, bringing its domestic total to $75.9 million.

Sony Pictures Classics' critically acclaimed "Foxcatcher," starring Steve Carrell and based on a true story about a murder, brought in $288,113 on six screens. "Foxcatcher" is considered an Oscar contender, along with jazz drumming drama “Whiplash,” which earned $800,509 over the weekend, bringing its total to $2.5 million.

The Jon Stewart-directed “Rosewater,” based on the true story of journalist Maziar Bahari's imprisonment and torture in Iran, made $1.2 million its first weekend, and Tommy Lee Jones' "The Homesman," about a frontier woman played by Hilary Swank, brought in $48,033 from four theaters.

Focus Features’ “The Theory of Everything,” about the romance between astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and his first wife, earned $738,000 over the weekend, and has made more than $1 million in two weeks. Fox Searchlight’s “Birdman,” starring Michael Keaton, brought in $2.4 million and has has made $11.6 million in limited release.

In other words, "Dumb and Dumber To," in spite of bad reviews and even "0" Metacritic scores, got the last laugh at the box office.