Schwimmer (left) and Stiller (right) are voices in Madagascar

The film, which features the voices of David Schwimmer and Ben Stiller, knocked Cruise's sci-fi thriller into the second spot.

War of the Worlds took �2.22m, boosting its total UK takings to �21.9m.

Romantic comedy Wedding Crashers, starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, entered the chart in third place.

UK AND EIRE BOX OFFICE CHART 1. Madagascar 2. War of the Worlds 3. Wedding Crashers 4. Batman Begins 5. The Descent Source: Screen International

Batman Begins, directed by Christopher Nolan and actor Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, dropped two places in the chart to number four.

Horror film Descent also dropped two places from number three to round out the top five.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's action film Mr and Mrs Smith was at number six, while Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith continued its top 10 run in eighth place.

Two Bollywood films made an impact at the box office - Dus, which dropped two places to number nine, and Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya, which was a new entry at seven.

British film Festival, featuring former This Life star Daniela Nardini, entered the chart at number 10.