Dr Seuss movie tops UK box office

Jim Carrey voices the rubbery elephant lead character

Animated film Dr Seuss' Horton Hears A Who! has entered the UK and Ireland box office chart at number one with takings close to £3m.

The movie, which features the voice of Jim Carrey, saw off fellow debutant The Spiderwick Chronicles, which was at two with ticket sales of £2.5m.

Step Up 2 The Streets and Meet The Spartans were also new hits in the top five over the Easter holiday weekend.

Last week's chart-topper 10,000 BC slumped to fifth place.

Thriller Vantage Point suffered a similar decline, falling from second to sixth place.

UK BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE 1 Horton Hears A Who! - £2.94m 2 The Spiderwick Chronicles - £2.55m 3 Step Up 2 The Streets - £2.35m 4 Meet The Spartans - £1.14m 5 10,000 BC - £1.03m Source: Screen International

Other new entries were Race at nine, and Spanish-Mexican production The Orphanage, which rounded out the box office chart at 10.

Horton Hears A Who!, which features an elephant as its main character, is also top of the North American box office for a second week.

It retained its top spot despite a slew of new releases for the Easter weekend in the US and Canada.

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.