Hero is a martial arts epic starring Jet Li

The film, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 2002, grossed $17.8m (�9.6m) in three days.

Last week's number one film, Exorcist: The Beginning, tumbled to fifth place in its second week on the chart, grossing only $6.7m (�3.6m)

The week's other big release, Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid, debuted at number two.

The only other new entry was Suspect Zero, a thriller starring Ben Kingsley and Carrie-Anne Moss, which had a disappointing debut, entering the charts at number 10 with only $3.4m (�1.8m)

Ruthless

Hero, directed by Zhang Yimou, is set in ancient China and is the story of an assassination attempt against a ruthless Chinese leader, told from three different viewpoints.

The film opened to huge critical acclaim, with many comparing it to the 2000 Oscar winner Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

US BOX OFFICE 1 Hero 2 Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid 3 Without A Paddle 4 Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement 5 Exorcist: The Beginning Source: Exhibitor Relations

Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations said the film was able to take advantage of the period after the summer blockbusters, when the box office is traditionally weak.

Opportunity

"Maybe these are the days of opportunity for certain types of films to do well after the blockbuster onslaught of early summer," he said. "This is a time when competition is a lot less fierce."

Rick Sands of Miramax, who released the film in the US, said its success "bodes well for Chinese films and foreign language films".

Exorcist: The Beginning fell to fifth place in the chart

This year's total summer box office is expected to be slightly up on last year's record takings of $3.9bn (�2.1bn).

However, the actual number of tickets sold is estimated to be down on last summer, with the higher revenues attributed to an increase in admission prices.