Cars features the voices of Owen Wilson and Paul Newman

The Pixar film's �2.67m weekend takings were enough to take the lead away from Johnny Depp's movie, which made �2.62m in its fourth weekend on release.

The films' combined haul between Friday and Sunday was more than the rest of the top 10's takings put together.

Horror movie Stay Alive and Indian film Omkara were the only other new entries.

Stay Alive opened at number eight, while Omkara - a Bollywood version of Shakespeare's Othello - made its debut at 10.

UK & IRELAND BOX OFFICE 1. Cars 2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 3. The Break-Up 4. Superman Returns 5. Stormbreaker (above) Source: Screen International

Jennifer Aniston's romantic comedy The Break-Up dropped down a place to three, while Superman Returns fell to four.

Since opening on 7 July, Dead Man's Chest had made �39.2m in the UK and Ireland.

Despite falling to second place in the chart, the adventure sequel still beat its animated rival on a screen-by-screen basis.

Featuring the voices of Owen Wilson and Paul Newman, Cars tells of a hotshot race car forced to spend time in a sleepy rural backwater.

Friday sees the UK release of Miami Vice, currently the top film in the US and Canada.