"Fred Claus" takes top spot in box office

LONDON (Reuters) - Seasonal comedy "Fred Claus" swept to the top of the box office on its opening weekend, knocking Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington down to third place after two weeks at No. 1.

The story of Vince Vaughn as Santa’s less saintly brother heading to the North Pole in need of cash took 1.9 million pounds, according to Screen International.

New at two was "Hitman," a film adaptation of the video game of the same name, featuring nameless assassin Agent 47 in 100 minutes of relentless violence.

Crowe and Washington in director Ridley Scott’s "American Gangster" were down in third, just above "Beowulf," director Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of the Old English poem, starring Ray Winstone, which was down to four from two.

At five, down two places was "Stardust", a fantasy adventure starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro, while also down two, at six, was the tale of sewer rat-turned-chef, "Ratatouille."

Seventh, down one place, was "The Darjeeling Limited," with Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody heading off the beaten track in India.

Biggest faller of the week was "Good Luck Chuck", a romantic comedy with Jessica Alba and Dane Cook, down at eight from five.

Horror movie "Shrooms" was down one place at nine while coming in at 10 .....continued below

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(Reporting by Stephen Addison, Editing by Astrid Zweynert)