Cruise finds box office mission impossible

'Mission: Impossible III' has a poor second weekend on the London chart, while 'Brick' opens big.

May 17 2006

'Mission: Impossible III' spent a second week at number one at the UK box office at the weekend, though the film's total gross was down around 50% from the week before.

It therefore looks unlikely to do anything like the kind of business that last year's 'War of the Worlds' did, suggesting we're all getting a little tired of Cruise's over-exposure and that perhaps his star power is starting to diminish.

Nevertheless, his popularity was enough to see off a lacklustre challenge from the Uma Thurman rom-com 'Prime', while the brilliant 'Brick' did brisk business, opening at three with a very respectable £53,606 from just ten screens.

Spike Lee's 'Inside Man' finally dropped out of the top three after eight weeks, falling from three to five, while the excellent 'Time to Leave' was a surprise new entry at number five.

And down at the foot of the chart, 'When a Stranger Calls' made a deservedly disappointing debut at number nine, though that probably won't prevent several thousand more horror remakes being announced over the next few weeks.

Next week, 'The Da Vinci Code' will doubtless destroy everything in its path, in spite of Dave Calhoun's damning Cannes review.