Lopez's romantic comedy took $19m (£12.5m), while the Star Trek film took $18.7m (£12.3m), according to preliminary reports released on Sunday.

North American box office

1. Maid in Manhattan 2. Star Trek Nemesis 3. Drumline 4= The Hot Chick/Die Another Day Source: AFP

Maid In Manhattan sees Lopez star as a hotel maid who is mistaken for a socialite when a senate candidate finds her trying on an expensive dress.

The film also stars Ralph Fiennes, and is her first film release since she announced her engagement to Hollywood star Ben Affleck last month.

Star Trek: Nemesis, the latest film taken from the veteran science fiction TV show, took second place with $13m (£8.66m), beating drama Drumline, starring Nick Cannon.

Patrick Stewart stars in the Star Trek movie

Two films tied for fourth place - the new trading-places comedy The Hot Chick and the latest Bond film, Die Another Day, which both took $7.5m (£5m).

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets has already fallen to sixth place, a month after it was released. It took $6.1m (£4m).

Other films in the top 10 were Analyze That, The Santa Clause 2, Treasure Planet and crime thriller Empire.