Die Another Day, the latest James Bond film, has beaten Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for the third week to take top spot in the UK box office.

The Bond film took �3.42m between Friday and Sunday to take the top slot above Harry Potter, which made �2.67m in the same period, according to industry journal Screen International.

Die Another Day has taken �23.6m in the UK after three weeks, though the Chamber of Secrets has amassed over �41m.

The third biggest film was seasonal Tim Allen comedy The Santa Clause 2, which took �1.17m over the weekend.

Deathwatch, the World War I horror featuring Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell, came fourth with a taking of �334,657.

Potter's second caper is at number two in the UK box office

At number five was The Quiet American, the Oscar-tipped adaptation of the Graham Greene novel starring Michael Caine. It made �230,919.

Meera Syal's Anita & Me came in sixth, while Jennifer Lopez's domestic violence drama Enough was seventh.

In eighth place was apocalyptic horror 28 Days Later, while Michael Moore's gun culture documentary Bowling For Columbine was ninth and French film 8 Women was tenth.

UK top five

1. Die Another Day 2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 3. Santa Clause 2 4. Deathwatch 5. The Quiet American Source: Screen International

On Monday, it was announced Die Another Day had returned to number one at the North American box office, having relinquished its reign at the top to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in the previous week.

The 20th Bond movie took an estimated $13m (�8.2m) in the US and Canada between Friday and Sunday, taking its total to $120m (�76.1m) after three weeks.