Beowulf stars Ray Winstone, Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins

The film, based on an ancient English poem, uses actors as the basis for animation. It sold $28.1m (�13.7m) of tickets during its first three days.

Jerry Seinfeld's animated Bee Movie slipped one place to number two with $14.3m (�7m).

American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, also fell down the chart to third place - taking $13.2m (�6.4m).

US AND CANADA BOX OFFICE 1. Beowulf - $28.1m (�13.7m) 2. Bee Movie - $14.3m (�7m) 3. American Gangster - $13.2m (�6.4m) 4. Fred Claus - $12m (�5.8m) 5. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - $10m (�4.9m) Source: Media By Numbers

Christmas comedy Fred Claus, featuring Wedding Crashers actor Vince Vaughn as Santa's older brother, took $12m (�5.8m) in its second weekend, earning the number four spot.

Fantasy drama Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, starring Dustin Hoffman as a toy impresario, entered the chart at number five with $10m (�4.9m).

Sixth was Steve Carrell's comedy Dan in Real Life, which took $4.5m (�2.2m), while thriller No Country For Old Men was a new entry at seven with $3.1m (�1.5m) despite a limited release.

Finishing off the top 10 were Lions for Lambs with $2.9m (�1.4m), horror film Saw IV with $2.3m (�1.1m), and literary adaptation Love In The Time Of Cholera with $1.9m (�936,000).