Murphy as Ma Klump - just one of the many characters he takes on

The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps sees Murphy reprise his role as the overweight title character, Sherman Klump, and his alter ego Buddy Love.

But what's remarkable about this sequel is that Murphy this time plays all the other members of the oversized Klump family throughout - following the success of the two set family dinner scenes in the first film.

The film revolves around Sherman's efforts to drain Buddy from his DNA.

Most of the action centres on the boisterous Klump family with added interest brought by singer Janet Jackson as Sherman's girlfriend.

Poor reviews

Despite the film's strong opening, it has received mixed to poor reviews.

Most critics have praised Murphy's multiple performances and the technical skill that allowed his Klump characters to interact.

However, many have also found the movie rambling and the humour overly coarse.

Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, believes that comedy has a habit of creating two very divided camps.

Ford and Pfeiffer hold on at number two

"With certain films, comedies especially, you're never going to please reviewers," said Rocco.

"But let's face it, audiences love this stuff. They want to be entertained, and Eddie Murphy does it the best."

The overall takings for the weekend's top 12 movies was $117.6m (�78m), down 15.5% on the same period last year.

Nonetheless, last weekend's top film, What Lies Beneath, held on at number two, taking $22m (�14.6m), down 26%.

Overall, the ghost thriller starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer has taken $68.5m (�45.5m) in 10 days.

Pokemon the Movie 2000, on the other hand, has seen its takings fall 68% in its second weekend to $6.3m (�4m). The X-men also dropped, by 51% to $11.5m (�7.6m).

Rounding off the top five were Scary Movie, which has taken $121.9m (�81m) in four weeks and The Perfect Storm, which has taken $157.6m (�104.8m) in 31 days.