It was Jack the Ripper's weekend at the US box office, with the new Johnny Depp thriller wresting the number one spot away from Denzel Washington's Training Day.

Despite decidedly mixed reviews, From Hell, which stars Depp as an opium-addicted Scotland Yard detective trying to track down the Victorian serial killer, took $11.6m (£8.10m) in the three days from Friday, which was enough to push Training Day down to third place.

Directed by Allen and Albert Hughes (who made Menace II Society), From Hell, which also stars Heather Graham and Robbie Coltrane, is an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore.

"It is well positioned to capture moviegoers looking for Halloween thrills in coming weeks," said Bruce Snyder, president of distribution for 20th Century Fox. Snyder added that the film "looked hip" and pointed out that 53% of the weekend's audience were aged under 25.

Drew Barrymore in Riding in Cars with Boys fell short of expectations to take second slot at the box office with $10.8m (£7.54m), while the Robert Redford/James Gandolfini drama The Last Castle opened at number five.

Reuters reports that "anthrax anxiety" is still subduing sales.