21 Jump Street leaps to No 1

Los Angeles - Audiences are heading back to school for the TV update 21 Jump Street, which has opened as the No 1 weekend movie with $35m.

Sony's action comedy starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as cops going undercover as high school students took down the animated hit Dr. Seuss' the Lorax, which had been the top film the previous two weekends.

Studio estimates on Sunday put Universal's The Lorax in second place with $22.8m, raising its domestic total to $158.4m.

At No 3, Disney's costly science-fiction dud John Carter dropped sharply in its second weekend. The Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptation took in $13.5m, down 55% from its anemic opening weekend and lifting its domestic total to a measly $53.2m. John Carter reportedly cost $250m to make.