Entertainment Film Distributors' The Golden Compass led the running in the UK for the second weekend in a row with a $6m (£3m) take across 509 sites.

The top 20 films in the UK/Ireland generated $20.9m across 3,779 screens from the period of December 14-16. This was collectively down 8.3% compared to the same period last year.

For the full UK/Ireland chart, click here.

The fantasy adventure may have dropped 47% over the three-day period but still boasted the highest site average at $11,873 (£5,900). The film has generated a staggering $24.6m (£12.2m) to date.

Disney's modern fairytale Enchanted opened to number two at the weekend, enjoying a $5.1m (£2.5m) take, including $285,046 (£141,236) of two-day previews (Dec1-2). The musical adventure, starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey, played across 471 sites for a $10,887 (£5,410) site average.

And DreamWorks' new offering, Bee Movie, had strong performance across 435 sites - the animated adventure opened to number three with a solid $4.6m (£2.3m) take, including $1.9m (£922,996) of two-day previews (Dec 8-9). The CGI animation boasted a $10,555 (£5,245) site average and is distributed by Paramount Pictures International (PPI).

Fred Claus remained in the top five despite dropping 45%. The festive comedy grossed nearly $1.5m (£720,676) from 427 sites for a $3,397 (£1,688) site average. It has a $10.1m tally to date after three weekends on release. It is released through Warner Bros.

Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium was the third film to enter within the top five this weekend. The toy store fantasy fell just shy of the $1m mark, taking $925,204 (£459,734) across 342 sites for a $2,705 (£1,344) site average. It stars Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman is released through Icon Film Distribution.

But not all UK audiences flocked to the family arena - Universal Pictures International's (UPI) new release We Own The Night catapulted to number six this weekend with an $888,340 (£441,416) take. The crime thriller played across 264 sites for a $3,365 (£1,672) site average. It sees director James Gray work alongside Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix for the second time since 2000's The Yards.

Twentieth Century Fox's Hitman fell 54% to number seven this weekend. The secret agent thriller generated $580,143 (£288,273) from 308 sites in its third weekend. It has taken more than $6m (£2.9m) to date.

And UPI had another top 10 hit with Ridley Scott's American Gangster. The biopic, starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington fell 56% to number eight with a $445,695 (£221,466) take from 232 sites for a $1,921 (£955) site average. It has generated $18.2m (£9m) after five weekends on release.

Warner Bros claimed the last two top ten hits - Beowulf and The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford came in at number nine and 10 respectively. Beowulf fell 68% with a $219,803 (£109,220) three-day gross. It has a $13.9 (£6.9m) tally to date. And Jesse James dropped 53% with a $116,104 (£57,692) take from 56 sites. It has generated more than $1m after three weekends on release.

Elsewhere, Tamil film Billa, released through Ayngaran International, came in at number 11 with a $103,214 (£51,287) take while Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life was re-released by Park Circusand took $30,237 (£15,025) from just 15 sites. Ratatouille and Stardust both suffered the steepest drops, each falling 83% over the weekend.


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