The Dark Knight Storms U.K. Box Office

New BATMAN movie THE DARK KNIGHT has stormed the U.K. box office in its opening weekend, with takings of $17.2 million (GBP8.6 million).

The Batman Begins sequel, starring the late Heath Ledger and Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, toppled movie musical Mamma Mia!, which came in second place with ticket sales of $5.6 million (GBP2.8 million).

Teen film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging made its debut in fourth position, with Tina Fey's comedy Baby Mama also entering at 10.

The Dark Knight has broken U.S. box office records by becoming the first film to pass the $300 million (GBP150 million) mark in just 10 days.