Jim Carrey voices the rubbery elephant lead character

The movie, featuring the voice of Jim Carrey, took $25.1m (�12.7m) and held on to the top spot despite a number of new releases over the Easter weekend.

Meet The Browns, written and directed by Tyler Perry - in second place - took $20m (�10.1m) on its opening weekend.

Horror remake Shutter and Owen Wilson comedy Drillbit Taylor debuted in third and fourth place respectively.

US & CANADA BOX OFFICE 1. Horton Hears A Who! - $25.1m 2. Meet The Browns - $20m 3. Shutter - $10.7m 4. Drillbit Taylor - $10.2m 5. 10,000 BC - $8.7m Friday-Sunday. Source: Media By Numbers

Shutter, the tale of a couple haunted by a spirit that appears on their wedding photos, took $10.7m (�5.4m) while Drillbit Taylor took $10.2m (�5.1m).

Prehistoric adventure 10,000 BC, a former number one, fell from second to fifth place with $8.7m (�4.4m).

In the Dr Seuss movie, Carrey provides the voice of a caring elephant who tries to protect the microscopic city of Whoville, which is based on a speck of dust.

Steve Carell, who stars in the US version of The Office, provides the voice of the mayor of Whoville.

Opening at number 10 was Under The Same Moon which tells the story of a Mexican boy who crosses the US border to try to reunite with his mother who is living in Los Angeles.

With takings of $2.6m (�1.3m), the film broke the record for an opening weekend of a Spanish language film.