As expected, Tom Cruise vehicle The Last Samurai slashed its way to the number one spot this week coming close to the one million admissions barrier and taking in over $5m in its first week.

In so doing it ended the five week reign of Return Of The King which drops to number three behind Mathieu Kassovitz's Gothika.

Lost In Translation continues to crowd-please and remains at number four. Apart from Samurai, two new French entries are the only ones to crack the top ten this week, with comedy Albert Est Mechant and Les Amateurs in fifth and tenth spots respectively.

The rest of the list is a throwback to last week with Wim Wenders' rumination on the blues, The Soul Of A Man, popping up at number 20 with a per screen average of just over 1000 admissions in its debut week.