Sarah Jessica Parker's “Failure to Launch” Debuted as the Top Weekend Movie

"Failure to Launch", a romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker, took off at theatres, debuting as the top weekend movie with $24.6 million in US.

Two remakes opened in second and third place. Disney's family flick "The Shaggy Dog", starring Tim Allen, was No. 2 with $16 million, and Fox Searchlight's horror tale "The Hills Have Eyes" was No. 3 with $15.5 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

"Failure to Launch", released by Paramount, bumped off Lionsgate's Tyler Perry's "Madea's Family Reunion", which had been the No. 1 movie the previous two weekends. That movie slipped to No. 5, grossing $5.8 million to raise its total to $55.8 million.

Reviews generally were poor for all three new films, but they overcame the weak critical reception to combine for a healthy $56.1 million. Still, they were unable to match last year's top three, "Robots", "The Pacifier" and "Be Cool", which combined for $64.4 million over the same weekend.

"Failure to Launch" stars McConaughey as a 35-year-old still living with his parents, who hire a bombshell played by Parker to entice him into moving out. The audience was two-thirds female, according to distributor Paramount. "There hasn't been a good date movie in a while, and I think women just felt like it was going to be a fun movie," said Rob Moore, the studio's worldwide head of marketing and distribution.

MORE RELATED ARTICLES: Sarah Jessica Parker Was A Poor Child Sarah Jessica Parker 'Not Nice' in New Film Stylish Sarah Jessica Parker under Pressure Sarah Jessica Parker, The Biggest Female Earner In New York Sarah Jessica Parker and Husband Matthew Broderick in Celebrity Centered Broadway Play Sarah Jessica Parker's perfume Sarah Jessica Parker Is Spinning Into Butter