McCarthy dethrones Batman v Superman at US box office

Melissa McCarthy co-wrote The Boss with her husband Ben Falcone

Melissa McCarthy's new comedy The Boss has unseated Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice from the top of the North American and Canadian box office.

The film, in which McCarthy plays an eccentric tycoon, took an estimated $23.5m (£16.5m) on its debut weekend.

Dawn of Justice was knocked to second place in its third week, pulling in an estimated $23.4m (£16.4m).

But when final box office figures are released on Monday, the DC comics "mash-up" could still come out on top.

The margin between the top two films is one of the closest in recent years, according to industry analysts.

Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill's superhero movie has defied poor reviews, having taken almost $300m (£211m) in the US.

The film, in which Affleck plays Batman and Cavill takes the role of Superman, now ranks as the third highest-grossing DC Comics release to date in the US, according to Box Office Mojo.

Its box office haul has now surpassed 2013's Man of Steel, also starring Cavill, which took $291m (£205m). However, Dawn of Justice's takings has dropped by 54% since its first week of release.

The Boss was co-written by Bridesmaids star McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone.

Critics had not expected it to perform well, but the film has done better than McCarthy's 2014 comedy Tammy.

Zootopia tells the story of a new police recruit rabbit and a criminal fox who have to work together to uncover a conspiracy

In third place came Disney's Zootopia with $14.4m (£10m), slipping one spot from last week.

Now in its sixth weekend of release, the animated film featuring the voices of Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin has made a US total of $296m (£208m).

Comedy sequel My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 was at number four, making $6.4m (£4.5m).

The weekend's only other newcomer, action thriller Hardcore Henry, opened in fifth place with takings of $5.1m (£3.6m).

The Russian-American sci-fi stars Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett, and Tim Roth.

Shot through the eyes of Henry in a style similar to a first-person shooter video game, it centres on a man who is resurrected from death with no memory but must discover his identity to save his wife from a murderous tyrant.

In the rest of the top 10, Miracles from Heaven held on in sixth place with $4.8m (£3.4m) and God's Not Dead 2 slipped to seven with $4m (£2.8m).

The Divergent Series: Allegiant fell to eighth, thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane was at nine and drone drama Eye In The Sky was at 10.