'Snakes on a Plane' puts bums on seats

The infamous pic opens at number one in London, while 'A Scanner Darkly' and 'Harsh Times' also do well.

Aug 23 2006

All the hype in the online world couldn't prevent 'Snakes on a Plane' grossing a distinctly underwhelming £85,104 in London cinemas over the weekend.

That total was enough to propel the high-concept action pic to the top of the chart, but hardly puts it in the 'summer blockbuster' category. Thanks to a rain-soaked sojourn to the V Festival I haven't seen the film yet and so can't comment on the quality, but the modest haul suggests that critics' previews might not have been such a bad idea for the Samuel L Jackson starrer.

Richard Linklater's visually stunning (and slightly more high-brow) 'A Scanner Darkly' opened at number two, a fine debut for the distinctly uncommercial Philip K Dick adaptation.

Below the top two, 'Miami Vice' and 'Nacho Libre' both fell a couple of notches while 'Superman Returns' held steady at five, no doubt buoyed by those hugely popular IMAX 3D screenings.

Another new entry was David Ayer's fantastic 'Harsh Times' at six, an uncompromising thriller that features a powerhouse central performance from Christian Bale (as discussed in the Time Out podcast).

Then it's business as usual, with a couple of blockbusters sliding downwards, a deeply average teen comedy entering at nine and a Bollywood epic dropping to ten.

Next week, expect 'Severance' to do well, though Pedro Almodovar's wonderful 'Volver' should deservedly take the top spot.