BILLY ELLIOT - SLUMDOG SMASHES SECOND-WEEK TAKINGS RECORD

SLUMDOG SMASHES SECOND-WEEK TAKINGS RECORD

Award-winning movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE has surged to the top of the U.K. box office chart with a huge increase in takings - beating the record previously set by BILLY ELLIOT.
The film, directed by Danny Boyle, saw its profits soar by 47 per cent to $8.6 million (GBP6.2 million) in its second week of release, catapulting it into the number one spot ahead of Will Smith's new drama Seven Pounds.
Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd's comedy Role Models fell from first to third, while My Bloody Valentine 3-D debuted at number four.
The top five was rounded out by Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway's romantic comedy Bride Wars.
Dave Thurston, managing director of Nielsen EDI, the industry body that monitors box office sales, praised Slumdog Millionaire for setting a new U.K. record.
He says, "It's incredible - 47 per cent is the biggest ever increase for a U.K. saturation release - it really is a box office phenomenon, breaking the record previously held by Billy Elliot's 13 per cent. It is clearly a hit."