“Ted” Tops US Box Office

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s debut film, about a foul-mouthed teddy bear called Ted, has topped the US box office in its opening weekend.

The comedy, starring Mark Wahlberg, took $54.1 million (£35m), according to studio estimates.

Director Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike, featuring Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey as male-strippers, was in second with $39.2m (£25m).

Pixar’s Scottish fairy tale Brave fell two places to number three.

Ted, in which a childhood toy comes to life and proves to be less-than cuddly, has an “R” rating in the US, meaning children under the age of 17 cannot see the film unless accompanied by an adult.

Only two R-rated movies have performed better in their opening weekend – and both were sequels: Last year’s Hangover 2 ($85.9m) and 2010’s Sex and the City 2 ($57m).

Writer-director MacFarlane also provides the voice of the drug-taking, profanity-prone bear while actress Mila Kunis, who plays Meg Griffin in Family Guy, plays Wahlberg’s girlfriend.

Magic Mike, inspired by star Tatum’s own early career as a male stripper, also performed better than expected.

A 73% female audience watched Tatum’s character Mike take newcomer The Kid, played by British actor Alex Pettyfer, under his wing.

Tyler Perry’s new release Madea’s Witness Protection was in fourth, with $26.4m (£17m), while Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted fell to number five with $11.8m (£7.5m).

Internationally, two big franchises got a head-start on their US openings, with animated sequel Ice Age: Continental Drift opening to $78m (£50m) and The Amazing Spider-Man in second with $50.2m (£32m).