Hannibal devours US box office

Hannibal stars Sir Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore

Hannibal, the sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, has shot to number one in the US movie charts after making a record-breaking $58m (£39m) in its first three days.

The film sees Sir Anthony Hopkins reprise his 1991 role as the flesh-eating Dr Hannibal Lecter, who is pursued by FBI agent Clarice Starling, played by Julianne Moore.

Its first weekend takings makes the horror thriller the third top-selling new release in US movie history after The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which took $72m (£49.6m), and The Phantom Menace, which made $64.8m (£44.6m).

Top five US films

1. Hannibal

2. The Wedding Planner

3. Saving Silverman

4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

5.Cast Away

It also means the movie has set new records for box office ticket sales by a non-summer US release and a film rated "R".

Hannibal's producer Dino de Laurentis said he was taken aback by the film's success.

"I expected it to be big but not this big," he commented.

He added that audiences had seemed to confer an almost hero status on the character of Dr Hannibal Lecter.

The Wedding Planner slipped to second place

Faced with such competition, the takings by other movies paled in comparison.

Slipping to number two in the charts after two weeks at the top was The Wedding Planner which made $7.8m (£5.3m).

The romantic comedy stars singer and actress Jennifer Lopez as a wedding organiser who falls in love with the fiancé of one of her clients.

Low-budget teen comedy Saving Silverman opened at number three with $7.4m (£5.1m).

The film stars Steve Zahn and Jack Black as two friends conspiring to save their best friend from marrying the wrong woman.

Director Ang Lee's Oscar-tipped Chinese-language Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon continued to do well.

Steve Zahn and Jack Black: On a mission in Saving Silverman

It rose another place to number four, 10 weeks after it was first released, after making $5.1m (£3.5m).

The film has so far made $6m, surpassing the $57.6m (£39.6m) made in total by the Oscar- winning Italian comedy Life is Beautiful.

Rounding out the top five was Tom Hanks's Cast Away which took $5m (£3.4m). The desert- island survival saga has now made $209.7m (£144.5m).