Twenty years may have passed but the tandem of Lloyd and Harry still pull in strong audience recall to place Dumb and Dumber To No. 1 at the North American box office.

Dumb and Dumber To topped the box office this weekend earning a whopping US$38.1 million in the United States and Canada.

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Last week's No. 1, Disney's animated bet, Big Hero 6, drops to No. 2, after earning US$36 million on its second weekend. Big Hero's total earnings so far have already reached US$111.7 million.

Dumb and Dumber To, which cost Universal Pictures US$40 million to make, surpassed the studio's US$30 million expectation on its first weekend.

The film continues the saga of silly pals Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) as they hit the road to look for Harry's long-lost daughter.

The first installment earned a US$247 million global box office making Bobby and Peter Farrelly two of the most recognizable comedy film directors. The film cost US$16 million to make but remained at the top box office draw for four weeks.

In an interview with LA Times, Peter Farrelly wanted the second installment to be as good and unforgettable as the first one.  

"We didn't want this to be 'Dumb and Dumber Lite,'" he explained.

"We wanted it to be as good as the first movie. Our goal is that after you see both movies and a couple of years have passed, they will blur together."

Just like the first film, Dumb and Dumber To has been slammed by critics, earning a B-minus rating from CinemaScore and 27% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film's strong box-office performance outweighs the poor critical remarks.

And it seems the first film's feel-good and laugh-your-heart-out memories must have triggered audiences to hit cinemas. In fact, more than half of moviegoers were 25 and older!

Meanwhile, Disney's Big Hero 6 became the studio's 85th title to earn US$100 million.

Space drama Interstellar, which landed the No. 3 spot, earned US$29.2 million, upping its domestic gross to US$97.8 million, while its overseas earnings already topped US$321.9 million.

Tagsdumb and dumber to, Jim Carey, jeff daniels