Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston met while making The Break-Up

The Break-Up, which stars Aniston and her reported boyfriend Vince Vaughn, took $38.1m (£20.2m) over the weekend, according to studio estimates.

That was about $10m (£5.3m) more than its film studio Universal expected.

Following its record-breaking opening last weekend, X-Men: The Last Stand dropped off, earning $34.3m (£18.2m).

The Break-Up is about a couple whose relationship is in trouble but who choose to stay together in their Chicago apartment.

US AND CANADA BOX OFFICE 1. The Break-Up - $38.1m 2. X-Men: The Last Stand (above) - $34.3m 3. Over the Hedge - $20.6m 4. The Da Vinci Code - $19.3m 5. Mission: Impossible III - $4.7m Source: Exhibitor Relations. Figures for Fri-Sun.

Co-written by Vaughn, it has notched up the third most successful opening weekend on record for a romantic comedy, behind Hitch and 50 First Dates.

The third X-Men film broke the record for the most successful opening weekend for any film this year, taking $103.1m (£55m) in its first three days when it opened last weekend.

But its takings slumped 67% in its second weekend. It has now taken a total of $175.7m in 10 days in the US and Canada.

Animated adventure Over the Hedge, featuring the voices of Bruce Willis and Steve Carell, held onto third place in the box office chart with $20.6m (£10.9m).

The Da Vinci Code slipped two places to number four, earning $19.3m (£10.2m).

The religious thriller's three-week North American total now stands at $172.7m (£91.7m).

Al Gore's climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth made it to number nine in this weekend's chart.