GI Joe storms US box office chart

GI Joe is hot on the heels of another toy-based film, the Tranformers sequel

Action movie GI Joe: The Rise of the Cobra debuted at number one on the North American box office chart, taking $56.2m (£33.8m) in its first weekend.

The film, based on the US version of the toy figure Action Man, stars Dennis Quaid and Sienna Miller.

Meryl Streep film Julie and Julia entered the chart at number two, with box office receipts of $20.1m (£12.1m).

Last week's number one, Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan's Funny People, dropped to number five.

G-Force held firm at number three, while Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince dropped to four from number two.

US AND CANADA BOX OFFICE

1. GI Joe: The Rise of the Cobra - $56.2m

2. Julie and Julia - $20.1m

3. G-Force - $9.8m

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - $8.8m

5. Funny People - $7.8m

Source: Hollywood.com (formerly Media by Numbers)

Paramount decided not to allow critics to see GI Joe before its general release, mainly because of the poor reviews for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen earlier in the year.

Despite that, it went on to make over $400m (£240m) at the North American box office.

"The thing we saw from Transformers is that with these kind of movies, at times critics have a hard time getting their arms around them," said Rob Moore, Paramount vice chairman.

"But the audience got exactly what it was. A fun summer movie."

Julie and Julia, based on two memoirs, stars Streep as celebrated chef Julia Child and Amy Adams as a woman who uses Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking to improve her life.

The only other new entry was thriller A Perfect Gateway starring Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich at number seven.

Summer box office receipts are down by 1% on the same period last year.