Miami Vice also topped the US chart on its first week on release

The movie, based on the 1980s TV series, took �2.23m in its first four days of release.

Cars slipped down a place to two, with the Pirates of the Caribbean follow-up Dead Man's Chest at three and Jennifer Aniston's The Break-Up at four.

Romantic comedy My Super Ex-Girlfriend and children's animation The Ant Bully opened at five and eight, respectively.

Miami Vice's takings between Friday and Sunday were only marginally ahead of its nearest rival.

But with receipts from Thursday previews taken into account, the Michael Mann film ended comfortably on top of this week's rundown.

UK & IRELAND BOX OFFICE 1. Miami Vice 2. Cars 3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 4. The Break-Up 5. My Super Ex-Girlfriend (above) Source: Screen International

Dead Man's Chest continued to perform strongly, its fifth weekend takings of �1.68m swelling its overall UK and Ireland earnings to �43.5m.

That put it comfortably ahead of Uma Thurman's My Super Ex-Girlfriend, which could only muster �713,793 in its first three days.

Audiences also failed to warm to Warner Bros animation The Ant Bully, which - despite featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage and Julia Roberts - took a disappointing �382,766 over the weekend.

This week sees the release of Lady in the Water, the latest supernatural drama from Sixth Sense director M Night Shyamalan, and Monster House, another computer-animated feature.