Tom cruises to top of US chart

Cruise's new film stars his current girlfriend Penelope Cruz

Tom Cruise's new vehicle Vanilla Sky has topped the US box office charts, deposing the ratpack remake Ocean's Eleven.

Vanilla Sky, which stars Cruise alongside Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz, is a psychological thriller with a complex plot which has attracted criticism for pretentiousness - but has grossed $25m (£17m) in its first three days.

Ocean's Eleven, starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, has slipped to number two after earning $73.2m (£50m) in its first 10 days on release.

North American box office chart

1. Vanilla Sky

2. Ocean's Eleven

3. Not Another Teen Movie

4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

5. Behind Enemy Lines

The box office chart is likely to be shaken up by a number of big film releases - including Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - in the coming week.

The film, the first of a series, opens on Wednesday, while Friday sees the release of Jim Carrey drama The Majestic and Meg Ryan romance Kate & Leopold.

Ali, Will Smith's biographical feature on the great heavyweight boxer, follows on 25 December.

'Mainstream'

The new Tom Cruise thriller has had the lowest opening earnings for a new number one film since October's K-Pax.

Lord Of The Rings: One of the year's most anticipated releases

But its opening weekend was described as "not bad" by analyst Paul Dergerabedian, president of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

"For a film that is not his typical mainstream role, it shows that he can open any film."

At number three was Not Another Teen Movie, an spoof on the teen movie genre, followed by the Harry Potter film which has now taken $253.3m in 31 days.

The war drama Behind Enemy Lines has slipped two places to number five.