Katie Holmes' new movie took just $7.7 million in opening weekend

Katie Holmes' new movie fared badly at the US box office - taking just $7.7 million in its opening weekend.

Mad Money placed seventh in the North American charts, despite a huge promotional blitz.

And 29-year-old Holmes - appearing in her first film since marrying Tom Cruise - was described as the worst part of the bank heist comedy, with the New York Times branding her "the movie's weakest link".

The film co-stars Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton. It is set for release in the UK later this year.

Holmes' last screen appearance was in 2006's Thank You for Smoking.

Meanwhile, Cloverfield, a film about a giant monster attacking New York, opened in North America with a January record of $41 million USD, studio estimates showed.

It beat the $35.9 million achieved when the first Star Wars movie was reissued in January 1997.

Romantic comedy 27 Dresses, which charts the life of a perpetual bridesmaid played by Katherine Heigl, was in second place this week with $22.4 million.

The Bucket List, about two cancer patients, played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, who travel the world before they die, was third, with $15.2 million USD.

The top 12 films took $135.3 million, up more than a third [39 percent] from the same weekend last year.