'Cinderella Man' fails to floor opponents at the London box office

The Russell Crowe pic fails to debut at number one, with 'Crash' returning to the top spot.

Sep 13 2005

It won't just be England's cricketers celebrating this week – writer-director Paul Haggis should also have a huge smile on his face. Not only has he been given the job of writing the next James Bond film, but his most recent effort, 'Crash', has also returned to the top of the London box office.

The star-studded drama, which features fine performances from the likes of Sandra Bullcok, Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser and Matt Dillon, has already been out for five weeks, and yet its popularity shows no sign of abating.

Ron Howard's boxing biopic 'Cinderella Man' failed to live up to the hype however, opening at number two – a disappointing debut for an Oscar hopeful that stars box office bankers Russell Crowe and Renée Zellweger.

Comedy hit 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' and tense thriller 'Red Eye' both descended down the chart, while 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Me and You and Everyone We Know' remained rooted to positions five and six respectively.

Below them, sporting remake 'The Longest Yard' failed to repeat its American success, coming in at a lowly number seven, while hilarious comedy 'The Aristocrats' and woeful hooligan drama 'Green Street' were the only other new entries, coming in at numbers nine and ten.

Next week, expect Aussie horror 'Wolf Creek' and period piece 'Pride and Prejudice' to shake things up at the top.