January 17, 2012 14:14

'War Horse' beats 'The Iron Lady' to top the UK box office

Steven Spielberg's new tearjerker took almost £4 million in its opening weekend

War Horse, Steven Spielberg's new big screen adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's highly successful novel, has stormed straight to the top of the UK box office chart. The film, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Emily Watson and Tom Hiddleston, took almost £4 million in box office takings in its opening weekend, comfortably earning it the Number One spot.

War Horse saw off competition from The Iron Lady, with the new biopic of Margaret Thatcher taking just under £1.5 million in its first weekend out.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol continue to do well, taking £1.4 million and £1.37 million respectively.

New sci-fi flick The Darkest Hour entered the UK box office chart at six, while the much acclaimed silent film The Artist climbed one place to seven. New sex addiction drama Shame entered the chart at Number 10, taking just over £500,000.

War Horse will face competition next week from Underworld: Awakening, W.E., The Sitter, Coriolanus and J.Edgar, which are all released this week.