'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' opens big

The first of 'The Chronicles of Narnia' to hit the big screen has a huge opening at the London box office.

Dec 15 2005

'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' had a phenomenal opening weekend at the London box office, finally knocking a certain bespectacled wizard from the top spot.

Andrew Adamson's adaptation of the CS Lewis classic raked in a whopping £536,126 from 22 screens, giving it one of the biggest opening weekends of the year.

'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' therefore dropped to number two, though its £109,267 3-day haul was still more than respectable.

And rounding out the top three was yet another kiddie flick in the shape of Luc Jacquet's wildlife documentary 'March of the Penguins'.

A surprise hit in the States this summer, the visually stunning film about the life cycle of emperor penguins looks like it could do similar business over here.

Further down the chart there's little in the way of action, although Golden Globe contenders 'The Constant Gardener' and 'Mrs Henderson Presents' continue to pull in the crowds, while Shane Black's 'Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang' is a surprise re-entry at number 10.

As for next week, expect 'King Kong' to destroy every film in its path.