With a strong $40 million opening weekend showing in U.S. theaters, the much-anticipated sequel "Dumb and Dumber To" is laughing all the way to the box office.

The tall tale of super idiots Harry and Lloyd, produced and directed by the Farrelly Brothers, stormed out of the gate with forecasts of between $13 million and $16 million for opening weekend sales. Universal Studios rolled out the comedy classic sequel to more than 3,100 locations.

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With a PG-13 rating and running the gamut of gross-out gags and low humor loved by its many fans, the sequel to "Dumb and Dumber" looked to more than double the original's opening weekend box office. When the cult classic opened in 1994 it took in $16 million.

"Dumb and Dumber" eventually earned $127 million. Carrey was paid $7 million, but Daniels took only $50,000 because he loved the script so much and producers had tapped their budget.

The new goofball comedy was on target to submerge competitor's box office numbers. Disney's "Big Hero 6" looked to take in $34 million and Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" was looking at about $29 million this weekend.

The adventure comedy centers on the life and times of fellow idiots Lloyd Christmas played by Carrey and bosom buddy Harry Dunne, impersonated by Daniels. Seemingly constant play over the last two years on cable TV boosted the film's profile and gained it cult-like status, according to writer-director brothers Peter and Booby Farrelly.

At the Friday U.S. premiere, Bobby Farrelly said "People watched it over and over. It had a different life of its own because they always had it on." He said an entire new generation of kids knew every one of the movie's lines.

It's a road trip of sorts in the sequel with the pair exhausting all means to find Harry a kidney donor. While the Universal Pictures sequel might not hit the $127 million in U.S. ticket sales, it's sure to take a place in popular culture for some time to come, reviewers said.

Tagsfilms, dumb and dumber to, jim carrey, jeff daniels, comedy, farrelly brothers, Universal Studios, big hero 6