Its $40m (£32.4m) nudges it ahead of 2009's Inglourious Basterds' $38m (£31m) debut and Django Unchained's $30m (£24.3m) opening in 2012.
The new film, set in 1969 around the time of the Manson murders, stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt.
The Lion King retained top position with $75.5m (£61m) in its second week.
The photo-realistic re-versioning of the 1994 Disney classic, starring a vocal cast which includes Beyonce, Donald Glover and British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, has now taken $350m (£284m) at the North America box office and $963m (£780m) globally.
