QUENTIN TARANTINO - US BOX OFFICE HORROR FOR GRINDHOUSE

Ambitious horror double bill Grindhouse from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez has disappointed in US box office sales, distributor Dimension Films has said.

The three-and-a-quarter hour film sold $11.6 million (£5.9 million) worth of tickets on its first three days of release, almost half of what movie forecasters had predicted.

Ice skating comedy Blades of Glory starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder fared much better meanwhile, leading the way with box office returns of $23 million (£11.7 million).

Grindhouse, a homage by Hollywood's two enfants terrible to tacky 1970s horror movies, is effectively two films squashed together, with US cinemagoers watching Planet Terror by Rodriguez and Death Proof by Tarantino in one mammoth sitting.

But zombie flick Planet Terror and Tarantino's slash-fest will be distributed separately outside of the US when it goes on international release at the end of next month.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Dimension Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said: "Are we disappointed about the gross? I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't. I am disappointed."

Bruce Willis, Eli Roth, Kurt Russell and Rosario Dawson all star in Grindhouse's two features, while the fictitious trailers preceding each segment feature cameos from stars such as Nicolas Cage, Jason Isaacs and Katie Melua.