MEAN GIRLS - BABY MAMA HAS MOTHER'S TOUCH AT US BOX OFFICE

BABY MAMA HAS MOTHER'S TOUCH AT US BOX OFFICE

Surrogacy comedy Baby Mama has bottle-fed its way to the top of the US box office charts after its opening weekend.

The Universal Studios picture, featuring Mean Girls star Tina Fey as a health-food franchise manager who considers using a surrogate mother after learning she is infertile, opened in the number one spot with $18.3 million (£9.2 million) taken in its first three days on release.

Co-starring Fey's former Saturday Night Live colleague Amy Poehler as the surrogate, Baby Mama charmed - mainly female - audiences to push stoner sequel Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay into second place.

"I think Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were the big draw," said Universal president of distribution Nikki Rocco.

"The marketing campaign said to audiences, 'You are going to be entertained,'" she told Variety.

While Harold & Kumar… made its debut in second, last week's number one movie, martial arts film The Forbidden Kingdom fell to third and Russell Brand-starring comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall dropped to fourth spot with $11 million (£5.5 million) in box office receipts.

The weekend's other new release, erotic thriller Deception, starring Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor, had an extremely underwhelming opening, taking just $2.2 million (£1.1 million) to take tenth place.

The top ten films at the US box office are:

1 Baby Mama - $18.3 million (£9.2 million)
2 Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay - $14.6 million (£7.4 million)
3 The Forbidden Kingdom - $11.2 million (£5.6 million)
4 Forgetting Sarah Marshall - $11 million (£5.5 million)
5 Nim's Island - $4.5 million (£2.3 million)
6 Prom Night - $4.4 million (£2.2 million)
7 21 - $4 million (£2 million)
8 88 Minutes - $3.6 million (£1.8 million)
9 Horton Hears A Who! - $2.4 million (£1.2 million)
10 Deception - $2.2 million (£1.1 million)