Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 has proved a tasty treat at the US box office.

The animated Sony sequel featuring the voices of Bill Hader and Anna Faris opened in first place and earned 35 million US dollars (£21.6 million) in its debut weekend, according to studio estimates.

The original Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs was showered with 30.3 million dollars (£18.7 million) during its opening weekend in 2009.

"It's remarkable that it did as well as and surpassed the first film," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony Pictures. "The filmmakers really ratcheted it up in terms of palette and tone. It's one of those films that just draws you in. The story is fun, and there's something for the whole family."

Last week's top film, Prisoners, slid to second place. The Warner Bros kidnapping thriller starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal nabbed 11.3 million dollars (£7 million) in its second weekend, bringing its total domestic haul to 38.9 million (£24.1 million).

Universal's Formula One tale Rush, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth, drove into the third position with 10.3 million dollars (£6.3 million) in its second outing after expanding to 2,297 cinemas in wide release.

The weekend's other new releases - Fox Searchlight's Baggage Claim and Relativity's Don Jon - didn't have debuts quite as sunny as Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2.

Baggage Claim, which features Paula Patton as a love-seeking flight attendant, opened in fourth place with 9.3 million dollars (£5.7 million).

Don Jon debuted at number five with nine million dollars (£5.5 million). The film was written, directed by and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as well as Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore.