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Los Angeles - Identity Thief has turned out to be the real thing at the US box office.
The comedy starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy debuted at No 1 with a $36.6m opening weekend.
Identity Thief opened solidly despite the winter storm that buried much of the Northeast.
Distributor Universal Pictures estimates the storm might have choked off as much as 10% of the movie's business.
According to studio estimates on Sunday, the previous weekend's top movie, the zombie romance Warm Bodies, fell to No 2 with $11.5m. That raises its domestic total to $36.7m.
The weekend's other new wide release, Steven Soderbergh's thriller Side Effects, had a modest opening of $10m, coming in at No 3.
Identity Thief opens in South African cinemas on 22 March.
Watch the trailer here:
