Christian Bale and Russell Crowe co-star in 3:10 to Yuma

The movie, a remake of a 1957 western starring the late Glenn Ford, knocked Halloween - another remake - down to two in this weekend's chart.

The action thriller Shoot 'Em Up opened disappointingly at six, with takings of $5.4m (�2.7m) well below expectations.

Overall sales fell, as is usual in the week after the US Labor Day weekend.

Critics have praised Crowe's film, which sees the Oscar-winning actor playing an outlaw in the custody of Christian Bale's one-legged rancher.

NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE 1. 3:10 to Yuma (pictured, $14.1m) 2. Halloween ($10.0m) 3. Superbad ($8.0m) 4. Balls of Fury ($5.7m) 5. The Bourne Ultimatum ($5.5m) 6. Shoot 'Em Up ($5.5m) 7. Rush Hour 3 ($5.3m) 8. Mr Bean's Holiday ($3.4m) 9. The Nanny Diaries ($3.3m) 10. Hairspray ($1.9m) Source: Media by Numbers

The film will shortly compete against another western, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which opens in US cinemas on 21 September.

Brad Pitt was a surprise winner of the best actor award at the Venice Film Festival for his role in that movie.

Previous chart-topper Superbad fell to number three in this week's chart, just ahead of another comedy, Balls of Fury.

Action sequels The Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 3 remained in the running at five and seven respectively.

Despite the drop-off in business, this weekend's takings still exceeded the same weekend last year.

This Friday sees the release of a number of potential Oscar candidates, among them David Cronenberg's new crime thriller, Eastern Promises, and Iraq war drama In the Valley of Elah.