Image copyright Mark Pokorny Image caption The final in the trilogy sees Martin Freeman reprise his role as Bilbo Baggins

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has held on to the top spot at the North American box office for a third consecutive week.

The final film in Peter Jackson's series took $21.9m (£14.3m) according to early studio estimates.

Disney's new release, the musical Into the Woods, was at number two with $19.1m (£12.5m) in its second week of release.

The fairytale drama stars Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp and Emily Blunt.

Angelina Jolie's World War II tale Unbroken, took third spot with $18.4m (£12m).

The weekend's only major new release, horror sequel The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, landed in fourth place with $15.1m (£9.9m).

The first film, starring Daniel Radcliffe, was a huge success.

The sequel stars Helen McCrory, recently seen in BBC Two series Peaky Blinders, War Horse's Jeremy Irvine and newcomer Phoebe Fox.

Sony's controversial film The Interview, which involves a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, took an estimated $1.1m (£723,142) in its second week of limited release.

Last week, Sony announced the film had taken $15m (£9.84m) in its first four days of online streaming.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb rounded out the top five with takings of $14.5m (£9.5m).