Jackson plays an FBI agent escorting a witness to LA See film clips

The film, which stars Pulp Fiction actor Samuel L Jackson, took �1.07m in its opening weekend.

It also topped the US box office this weekend, earning $15.3m (�8.1m) in its first four days - somewhat less than had been expected.

The $30m (�15.8m) movie was released without being screened to critics following months of internet hype.

Before a single frame had been shot, the action film earned a cult following thanks to a wealth of blogs, comedy sketches and trailers generated by film fans.

The word-of-mouth popularity eventually fed back to the film's producers, who even re-shot scenes to incorporate dialogue suggested online.

UK AND IRELAND BOX OFFICE 1. Snakes on a Plane 2. Cars 3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (above) 4. Monster House 5. John Tucker Must Die 6. Nacho Libre 7. Miami Vice 8. Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna 9. Garfield 2 10. The Break-Up Source: Screen International

Jackson plays an FBI agent who is escorting an eyewitness to a brutal mob murder on a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles.

Chaos breaks out when the crime boss smuggles hundreds of poisonous snakes onto the commercial aircraft inside a crate timed to break open halfway over the Pacific.

The summer's most profitable movie so far is the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, Dead Man's Chest.

The Johnny Depp film has taken �48.4m in UK and Ireland, and drops to number three in this week's chart.

The only other new entry in the top 10 was the revenge comedy John Tucker Must Die, which debuted at number five.