ROBERT DOWNEY JR - IRON MAN BATTERS ITS WAY TO TOP OF UK BOX OFFICE

Iron Man has followed its huge US success by taking the number one spot in the UK and Ireland.

The Marvel Studios movie opened to a massive $101 million (£51 million) across the Atlantic, becoming one of only ten films to ever break that barrier in its first three days on release.

And while its box office receipts were considerably smaller in the UK, the comic book movie has powered to the top of the charts in its opening weekend.

Starring Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow, the action flick took £5.4 million at cinemas across UK and Ireland to batter breakup comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall into second place.

Downey Jr plays arrogant industrialist Tony Stark who fashions a mighty armoured suit after being captured by Afghan insurgents only to find that his newfound passion for defence is at odds with the deadly love of weaponry of father figure Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges).

Fantasy adventure Nim's Island, starring Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler, was a new entry at three with role-reversal comedy Made of Honour taking fourth spot.

The Eye and 21 each fell by four positions, while Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky continued to charm audiences, climbing one position in its third week on release.

The top five films at the UK and Ireland box office are: (last week's position)

1 Iron Man - £5.4 million (-)
2 Forgetting Sarah Marshall - £1.3 million (1)
3 Nim's Island - £820, 218 (-)
4 Made of Honour - £748, 611 (-)
5 The Eye - £366,298 (2)
6 21 - £319,318 (3)
7 In Bruges - £296,972 (5)
8 Fool's Gold - £189,221 (4)
9 Happy-Go-Lucky - £178,390 (10)
10 Persepolis - £126,409 (-)