Bourne Identity grabs top spot

The film is based on a Robert Ludlum thriller

Matt Damon thriller The Bourne Identity has entered the UK and Ireland box office chart at number one, taking more than £2m in its first three days.

The film - which its star said was too violent for its 12A rating - pushed Insomnia, which earned £839,500, down to number two in the chart.

UK/Ireland top 5

1) The Bourne Identity

2) Insomnia

3) The Guru

4) The Importance of Being Earnest

5) Men In Black II

Source:
Screen International

The 12A rating allows children younger than 12 to see a film if accompanied by an adult.

It appears to have benefited Spider-Man, which is being promoted again with the new classification and re-entered the charts at number nine.

The Guru, starring Jimi Mistry, is at number three with earnings of £655,000.

Also new in the chart is The Importance of Being Earnest, an all-star version of the classic Oscar Wilde play.

Critical reception

The Oliver Parker film, which stars Colin Firth, Rupert Everett and Dame Judi Dench, appears to have survived a poor critical reception to debut at number four, earning £553,000.

Spider-Man has climbed back into the charts after re-classification

At five is Men In Black II, followed by The Sweetest Thing, Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams and Reign Of Fire.

At number 10 is the third of Mike Myers' Austin Powers films, Goldmember.

Anglo-German co-production Once Upon A Time In The Midlands has entered the chart at number 15.

Billed as a "tinned spaghetti Western", the film stars Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Kathy Burke and Ricky Tomlinson and transplants a Western-style storyline to a working-class milieu in the West Midlands.