The movie “No se aceptan devoluciones” (Instructions Not Included) has recorded the biggest ever opening weekend in Mexico for a Mexican production.

The comedy directed by and starring Eugenio Derbez earned 148.8 million pesos (11.6 million dollars) after opening at 1,500 screens around the country on Friday, September 20.

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After just three days on release, “No se aceptan devoluciones” leaped into third spot for the highest all-time box office ranking for a Mexican movie on home soil.   The movie will certainly overtake the 2002 “El Crimen del Padre Amaro,” currently in second place (162.6 million) and probably dethrone Gary Alazraki’s comedy “Nosotros los Nobles,” now in first place with 342 million pesos in takings following its release earlier this year.

“No se aceptan devoluciones” also broke box office records in the United States for a Hispanic film on opening weekend, overtaking Guillermo del Toro’s scary “El Laberinto del Fauno.”

Derbez is one of Mexico’s best-known actors who rose to fame in Televisa’s stable of entertainers.  He leans toward comedy but has also undertaken some serious roles, including the play “Latinologues” on Broadway.

In “No se aceptan devoluciones” Eugenio Derbez plays Valentin, a waster who finds a baby – his daughter – left on his doorstep.  After moving to Los Angeles to look for the mother (unsuccessfully), he is forced into work as a stuntman. He proves to be suited to the job and over the next six years,  while raising his daughter, becomes one of Hollywood’s most famous stuntmen. His life turns upside down when the mother appears and wants her child back.

There was a slight disappointment for the movie, however, when “Heli” was chosen last week as the country’s foreign film submission for the 2013 Academy Awards. Amat Escalante won the best director prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May for his raw take on Mexico’s drug trafficking conundrum.{/access}