Jim Carrey endured hours of make up sessions for the role

Charlie's Angels, which held the top spot for just two weeks, toppled down to third spot, behind the latest Rugrats movie.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - the film's US title - is based on the popular children's book by Dr Seuss, first published in 1957.

Jim Carrey, who had to endure hours of make-up sessions to transform himself into the mean-spirited character, is virtually unrecognisable in the role.

It is the best opening for Carrey and for director Ron Howard, who also made Splash, Apollo 13 and EDtv.

US box office

1. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (�38.7m) 2. Rugrats in Paris (�16.1m) 3. Charlie's Angels (�9.6m) 4. The 6th Day (�9.3m) 5. Bounce (�8.6m) 6. Men of Honour (�5.6m) 7. Little Nicky (�5.4m) 8. Meet the Parents (�4.5m) 9.The Legend of Bagger Vance (�2m) 10. Red Planet (�1.9m)

The Rugrats in Paris movie earned a screen average of $7,839 at 2,934 cinemas, slightly less than the first adaptation of the popular Pickles family cartoon, according to box office trackers, Exhibitor Relations.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's new movie The 6th Day earned $13.2m over the weekend, enough to put it into fourth place in the chart.

Bounce, a romantic drama pairing off-screen lovers Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, took the fifth spot, earning $11.5m.

Charlie's Angels has now earned almost $100m (�60m) in North America since it opened.

It opens in the UK on 24 November while The Grinch opens on 1 December.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace holds the record for the biggest box office opening, taking $64.8m (�45m), followed by three other sequels, Mission: Impossible 2, Toy Story 2 and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.