Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy star in Scary Movie 3

It took $49.7m (�27.3m) in its opening three days, making it the most successful film ever to open in October in the US.

The first Scary Movie, a spoof of the Scream trilogy, had the catchline "No Mercy, No Shame, No Sequel".

The film knocked the remake of horror Texas Chainsaw Massacre down to number two after one week.

The film, starring Jennifer Biel, took $14.7m (�8.6m) in its second weekend. It cost only $9.5m (�5.6m) to produce.

Debuting at number three was the feel-good drama Radio, starring Cuba Gooding Jr, based on the true story of a mentally disabled man who makes friends with a high school football coach.

Angelina Jolie's latest film Beyond Borders, a gritty love story set against a backdrop of war-torn Africa, failed to set the box office alight, taking just $2m (�1.18m) in its opening weekend.

The star's career has suffered of late with flops Original Sin and Life of Something Like it, while the Tomb Raider sequel also failed to live up to the original.

Top 5 North American films 1. Scary Movie 3 2. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3. Radio 4. Runaway Jury 5. Mystic River

The overall box office saw strong sales, with takings of $121.1m, up 39% on the same weekend last year, according to early studio estimates.

Younger audience

At number four was the thriller Runaway Jury, based on the John Grisham novel, while at five was Clint Eastwood's Mystic River.

The first two Scary Movie films were directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans, and written by his brothers, but the third was taken over by director David Zucker, whose previous credits include Airplane! and Naked Gun.