Virgin comedy charms US filmgoers

The 40-Year-Old Virgin star Carell is in the US version of The Office

Sex comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin has topped the North American box office chart in its first weekend on release.

The film is a vehicle for Steve Carell, star of the US version of The Office, and took $20.6m (£11.4m) between Friday and Sunday.

A Universal Pictures spokeswoman said women had made up 54% of its audience.

Suspense thriller Red Eye opened in second place with $16.5m ($9.1m). Last week's top film, crime thriller Four Brothers, slipped down to three.

US AND CANADA BOX OFFICE 1. The 40-Year-Old Virgin $20.6m (£11.4m) 2. Red Eye $16.5m (£9.1m) 3. Four Brothers $13m (£7.2m) 4. Wedding Crashers $8.3m (£4.6m) 5. The Skeleton Key $7.4m (£4.1m) Source: Exhibitor Relations

The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which Carell co-wrote, casts him as a middle-aged worker in an electronics shop whose colleagues discover he has never had sex.

They set out to find him an easy woman, only for him to begin dating a single mother (played by Catherine Keener) with a no-sex policy.

Red Eye stars Rachel McAdams as a woman on an overnight flight who is forced to assist in an assassination plot by the person sitting next to her - played by Cillian Murphy - who threatens to have her father killed unless she complies.

The film is an understated departure for Wes Craven, who directed horror films A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream.