Suicide Squad keeps grip on North American box office despite big drop

Critics have panned Suicide Squad - but it has now made $465m (£360m) worldwide

Suicide Squad has overpowered a talking sausage and a mystical dragon to keep its place at the top of the North American box office rankings.

The riotous blockbuster, which follows a gang of supervillains from the DC comic stable, took an estimated $43.8m (£33.9m) between Friday and Sunday.

That was 67% down on last weekend's opening numbers.

But it was enough to put it above two new releases - R-rated comedy Sausage Party and family fantasy Pete's Dragon.

Sausage Party imagines food that comes to life, Toy Story-style

Sausage Party, an adult animation in which Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig and Jonah Hill give voice to foul-mouthed food products, raked in an estimated $33.6m (£26m).

That represented a "big win" in light of its $19m (£14.7m) production budget, according to Josh Greenstein, president of worldwide marketing and distribution for film studio Sony.

"What is phenomenal about this result is it shows if you take risks and are high-quality and original in this marketplace, it can pay off big time," he told the AP news agency.

Oakes Fegley plays Pete, who befriends a dragon in Pete's Dragon

In Pete's Dragon, based on the 1977 film of the same name, Bryce Dallas Howard and Robert Redford find a boy living wild with a dragon.

The Disney film earned $21.5m (£16.6m) in its opening weekend.

Matt Damon's latest outing as Jason Bourne was in fourth in the weekend chart, followed by adult comedy Bad Moms.

The only other new entry in the top 10 was Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant's Florence Foster Jenkins, which debuted in eighth place with $6.6m (£5.1m).

Suicide Squad, whose cast includes Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto, has now made $222.9m (£172.6m) in the US and Canada and a further $242.4m (£187.6m) elsewhere around the world.