Scary Movie 4 tops US box office

Anna Faris has starred in all four Scary Movies

Scary Movie 4, the latest film in the spoof horror series, has proved a hit with North American fans, taking $41m (£23m) at box offices over the weekend.

Six years after the first Scary Movie film, the franchise shows little sign of losing its appeal with cinemagoers.

The fourth instalment set a new Easter weekend record, beating the $30m (£17m) earned by thriller Panic Room in 2002.

Ice Age: The Meltdown was second at the weekend, taking $20m (£11.3m), according to studio estimates.

The cartoon sequel has now almost reached the $150m (£85m) mark in ticket sales in the US and Canada.

NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE 1. Scary Movie 4 - $41m 2. Ice Age: The Meltdown (above) - $20m 3. The Benchwarmers - $10m 4. The Wild - $9.6m 5. Take the Lead - $6.7m Friday-Sunday. Source: Exhibitor Relations

Third place in the box office chart went to baseball comedy The Benchwarmers, starring Rob Schneider.

But Disney's latest animal animation The Wild could only enter in fourth place, reaping $9.6m (£5.4m) in ticket sales in three days.

Hollywood's overall takings rose for the fourth weekend in a row, with the top 12 movies making $110m (£62m) - up 23% on Easter weekend last year.

Scary Movie 4 also gives Bob and Harvey Weinstein their first number one movie since they left Miramax to set up their own company last year.

"We couldn't have asked for a more impressive opening for Scary Movie 4 and are so proud to have accomplished this only six months after our company launched," Bob Weinstein said.

"This exceptional opening proves that this franchise has tremendous staying power."