The film stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
In third place was the romantic comedy Spanglish, starring comic Adam Sandler in an unsual role, opening with a take of US$8.8 million.
Animated Christmas adventure The Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks in five different roles, maintained fourth place with ticket receipts of US$8.4 million.
Blade: Trinity, which stars Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson in a story about a group of vampires seeking to resurrect Dracula, was fifth with US$6.8 million.
Historically-flavored adventure flick National Treasure, starring Nicolas Cage, was sixth with a haul of US$6 million, followed by the seasonal comedy Christmas With The Kranks with US$5.3 million.
Flight of the Phoenix, a remake of a 1965 film of the same name about survivors of a plane crash in the Mongolian desert, debuted with US$5 million in ticket receipts, assuring it eighth spot.
Closer, the harrowing story of a doomed love quadrangle, starring Jude Law and Julia Roberts, was next with US$3.3 million and ninth place. Rounding off the weekly top 10 ranking was the Disney-Pixar animated superhero adventure The Incredibles, which took US$3.1 million.
The film has grossed nearly US$237 million in North America alone since debuting seven weeks ago.
The top 12 films at the box office generated a combined total of around US$99 million, down more sthan 25 percent from the US$133.4 million notched up by the top dozen films in the same period one year ago.
Keaton, Jessica Parker team up
Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker are teaming up for a Christmas comedy about a family who hates the girl brought home by one son for the holidays.
According to the Hollywood Reporter the film has the working title of Hating Her and will start shooting in February.
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