Red Dragon, the remake of Hannibal Lecter thriller Manhunter, has held onto its top spot at the North American box office charts while Madonna's new film has struggled to make any impact.

Sir Anthony Hopkins' third appearance as the psychotic doctor pulled in $17.6m (�11.2m) over the weekend, enough to keep the top spot for a second week.

The film was directed by Guy Ritchie, Madonna's husband

Swept Away, starring Madonna and directed by husband Guy Ritchie, failed to take a top 10 spot, taking just $375,000 (�240,000).

The film was hit by scathing reviews and a limited release on just 196 screens, with no plans to widen its release.

Sweet

Takings for Red Dragon fell 52% on last week but the movie has now pulled in $63.2m (�40.4m) in 10 days.

US/ Canada top five

1. Red Dragon 2. Sweet Home Alabama 3. Brown Sugar 4. The Transporter 5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding Source: Exhibitor Relations

Former chart number one, Sweet Home Alabama, starring Reese Witherspoon, stayed at number two with $14.1m (�9m) in its third weekend.

Romantic comedy Brown Sugar opened at number three, pulling in $11.1m (�7m).

The other new entrants in the top 10 were The Transporter, starring British actor Jason Statham, which took the fourth spot with $9.2m (�5.8m) takings, White Oleander, a prison drama starring Michelle Pfeiffer, fairy tale adaptation Tuck Everlasting, and Knockaround Guys, a mob drama starring Vin Diesel and Christopher Walken.

The top 12 films grossed $93m (�59.5m), up 20% from the same period last year, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

Ticket receipts so far this year stand at almost $7 billion (�4.4 billion), and observers predict the total for 2002 could pass $9 billion (�5.7 billion) for the first time.