Spider-Man has held the box office record

Taking more than $86m (�59m) between Friday and Sunday, it trailed Spider-Man's $114m (�78m) record and Harry Potter's $90m (�62m).

The totals could be seen as a blow to George Lucas' Star Wars franchise - but it has been showing on fewer screens than Spider-Man was when it opened.

Star Wars: Episode II - The Attack of the Clones has now taken a total of $116.3m (�79.8m) in the US and Canada since being released on Thursday.

The fifth instalment in the cult Star Wars series that began in 1977, it was one of the most hotly-anticipated films of the year.

US and Canada cinema top five

1. Star Wars: Episode II 2. Spider-Man 3. Unfaithful 4. About A Boy 5. The New Guy Source: Studio estimates

It opened to warmer reviews than Episode I - The Phantom Menace, which was widely seen as a disappointment when it was released in 1999.

But that film still went on to be the fourth most successful movie in US cinema history, earning $431m (�296m).

The Attack of the Clones was showing on about 6,000 screens across the country - 1,500 less than Spider-Man when that film opened two weeks earlier.

Spider-Man is still attracting cinema-goers, setting a new record for a film in its third weekend.

About A Boy was a hit in the UK

It was pushed down to number two in the chart, but still took $46m (�31.5m) between Friday and Sunday.

Hugh Grant's latest film, About A Boy, which has become the most successful British film of the year in the UK, found it hard to compete with the blockbusters in the US.

It took $8.4m (�5.8m) in its opening weekend, just behind Richard Gere's Unfaithful, with $10.3m (�7.1m).

The Attack of the Clones will have taken millions more in ticket receipts elsewhere around the world, but those figures have not yet been released.