'Wallace & Gromit' rule London

'Curse of the Were-Rabbit' takes no prisoners as it blows away the competition, topping the box office chart

Oct 18 2005

'Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit' stormed its way to the top of London's weekend box office, posting more than triple the receipts (£265,715) of the number two film.

The misadventures of this most beloved of British odd couples have captured the imagination of both adults and children alike in their debut big screen outing.

Spare a thought for Nic Cage's 'Lord of War', which beat off stiff competition in cinema foyers for the strays who couldn't get into to see 'Wallace & Gromit'.

This dark comedy about gun-running from director Andrew Niccol squeezed £79,008 in receipts, forcing 'Oliver Twist' into the number three position and 'A History of Violence' into number four.

Incredibly 'Pride & Prejudice' is still hanging on in there after five weeks on release, slipping to number five but taking £54,591 – will audiences ever tire of Elizabeth and Mr Darcy's romance.

'Serenity' could only manage to hold onto six in the chart on its second week of release, with a relatively respectable £43,435 from 12 screens.

Keira Knightley makes her second appearance in the top 10 with Tony Scott's bounty-hunter actioner 'Domino' at seven, after a critical panning it seems unlikely to do any better.

'Kinky Boots', 'Night Watch' and 'Howl's Moving Castle' round things off at eight, nine and 10 respectively, in what was a tough week for films of the non-claymation format.

It's highly unlikely that any of this week's new releases will challenge 'Wallace & Gromit' for top spot, but watch out for Bill Murray charming his way to a decent position with 'Broken Flowers' and Tim Burton joining the fray with 'Corpse Bride'.

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