Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play assassins in Mr and Mrs Smith

But its triumph is expected to be brief with this week's release of the eagerly awaited Batman prequel, Batman Begins.

Released in 36 territories worldwide, Mr and Mrs Smith took $34,258,885 (�18,816,953) between Friday and Sunday, according to Screen Daily.

Sin City opened top in Poland and was third in the main box office list.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas' final movie offering in the six-part series, has global takings of $341,730,000 (�187,783,416).

It is topping the box office in Germany, while The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is in second place.

Nicole Kidman's thriller The Interpreter has just opened in France but also had to settle for second place behind the third Star Wars film.

Controversial

Mr and Mrs Smith, in which Pitt and Jolie play married assassins hired to kill each other, was the first major "day-and-date" release since the Star Wars film.

Co-ordinated to open simultaneously around the world, it was expected to perform well.

All the other new entries in this week's international chart were non-English language titles.

They include the South Korean drama Rules of Dating, a controversial look at sexual harassment in schools, and the Bollywood love story Parineeta.