(Newser)
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Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman waltzed off with the weekend box office with a surprising $36.6 million—the year's top opening thus far, notes the Hollywood Reporter, and one of the top five showings ever for an R-rated comedy. Those numbers might have been better yet were it not for the blizzard that slammed the Northeast; experts reckon that without the weather, Identity Thief would've topped $40 million. Warm Bodies was a distant second, with $11.5 million, while Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects snagged $10 million in its debut. Rounding out the top five were Silver Linings Playbook ($6.9 million) and Hansel & Gretal: Witch Hunters ($5.6 million).
