'Fantastic Four' clobber the box office competition

While 'Wedding Crashers' looks like being the sleeper hit of the summer.

Jul 26 2005

In spite of a plethora of poor reviews, the 'Fantastic Four' clobbered their way to the top of the London box office this weekend, grossing an impressive £185,980 from Friday to Sunday.

That total was enough to knock the cute critters of 'Madagascar' off the top spot, although the 'Wedding Crashers' held their own at number two, suggesting that the on-screen pairing of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn may well be an inspired decision.

Below them, blockbuster behemoths 'War of the Worlds' and 'Batman Begins' fell to four and five respectively, while Walter Salles' decidedly average horror remake 'Dark Water' was a new entry at number six.

Former Time Out film of the week 'Silver City' made a solid debut at number seven, with an impressive £24,597 haul from just eight screens, while shaggy dog story 'Bombón el Perro' was a surprise re-entry at number eight.

Neil Marshall’s 'The Descent' fell four places to number nine, while propping up the chart (before their inevitable departure) is the impossibly attractive pairing of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in 'Mr & Mrs Smith'.

Expect it to be all change at the top again next week, as Willy Wonka will doubtless show the 'Fantastic Four' just who is boss with the release of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'.