The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has taken $67m (£38m) at the US and Canadian box office on its opening weekend. Only The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had a higher December debut, taking $72.6m (£41...

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has taken $67m (£38m) at the US and Canadian box office on its opening weekend. Only The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had a higher December debut, taking $72.6m (£41.2m) in 2003. Narnia, based on the book by CS Lewis, took a further $42m (£24m) in 14 other countries, according to estimates. Syriana, starring George Clooney and Matt Damon, came in at number two, while Harry Potter slipped to third. Magical

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, starring Tilda Swinton and James McAvoy, is the first of the Chronicles of Narnia series to be made into a feature film.

The Disney film follows the Pevensie children, who discover a wardrobe which is a gateway to the magical land of Narnia.

"This is one of those movies that's playing to everybody, and everybody is loving it," said Disney's Chuck Viane.