Rango shoots to top of US box office
Animated cowboy comedy Rango has shot to the top of the North American box office taking $38m (£23.4m) in its first weekend, according to estimates.
It tells the tale of a pet chameleon, voiced by Johnny Depp, who becomes an accidental hero when he is stranded in the Nevada desert.
The Adjustment Bureau, a thriller starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, opened at two with $20.9m (£12.9m).
Beastly, starring Vanessa Hudgens, debuted at three with $10.1m (£6.2m).
Rango also features the voices of actors including Britons Bill Nighy, Alfred Molina and Ray Winstone.
Raunchy comedy Hall Pass, starring Owen Wilson, stayed at number four, taking $9m (£5.5m), while animation Gnomeo and Juliet was fifth, taking $6.9m (£4.2m).
The King's Speech, crowned best film at this year's Oscars, stayed in seventh place, taking $6.5m (£4m).
Continuing this year's pattern, box office takings were down on the same weekend last year.
But Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box office tracker Hollywood.com, said comparisons with a year ago were "tough considering that's when Alice in Wonderland opened", with $116.1m (£71.2m).
"We're not even in that realm this year, so this is our second down weekend in a row," he said.
"We've only had one up weekend at the box office versus a year ago - there's this malaise overtaking the marketplace."