The Bourne Ultimatum is the third in the series

Starring Matt Damon as former assassin Jason Bourne, it took �5.3m in its opening weekend - almost double the �2.7m its predecessor made in 2004.

Animated comedy The Simpsons Movie held on to second place, taking �1.54m, just ahead of Rush Hour 3 on �1.52m.

Two toy franchises rounded off the top of the charts, with Bratz: The Movie at four and Transformers at five.

The Bratz film, a new entry, portrays four school friends defying attempts to break up their group.

UK AND IRELAND BOX OFFICE 1. The Bourne Ultimatum (�5.32m) 2. The Simpsons Movie (�1.54m) 3. Rush Hour 3 (�1.52m) 4. Bratz: The Movie (�1.25m) 5. Transformers (�0.95m) 6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (�0.94m) 7. Surf's Up (�0.59m) 8. Hairspray (�0.51m) 9. Evan Almighty (�0.50m) 10. Shrek The Third (�0.17m) Source: Screen International

Based on the popular series of dolls, it took �1.2m in its opening weekend - including �288,000 made during preview screenings.

Family-friendly movies dominate the chart as the school holidays draw to a close, with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix racking up its sixth week in the top 10.

Placed at number six, the film's UK box office haul now stands at �46m.

Animation Surf's Up, about a documentary crew at the Penguin World Surfing Championship, remained in seventh place.

Musical comedy Hairspray dropped two positions to eight, while religious comedy Evan Almighty - which sees comedian Steve Carell building an ark - sank from five to nine.

Rounding off the top 10 is children's cartoon Shrek The Third.