No Panic at top of UK box office

Hugh Grant plays a childless, dissolute playboy

British comedy About a Boy has held off competition from Jodie Foster's new thriller Panic Room to stay at the top of the UK box office.

About a Boy, starring Hugh Grant and based on the novel by Nick Hornby, has stayed at number one for a second week, with takings totalling £7.6m.

The movie sees Grant play a selfish London man who pretends he has a son in the hope it will attract women.

Foster's Panic Room, about a single mother hiding from burglars in a high-security room in her New York home, had a fairly strong opening weekend with receipts of £2m.

The movie smashed box office records for an Easter weekend opener in the US, taking $30.2m (£21.1m), beating previous holder The Matrix by more than £2m.

Jodie Foster plays a mother trying to protect her daughter in Panic Room

Bend it Like Beckham slipped to number three, taking £486,753 over three days, bringing its total takings to £7.7m since it was released four weeks ago.

Animated tale

Another strong performer is The Scorpion, starring WWF wrestler The Rock, which is at number four.

The only other new release was the Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy buddy cop movie Showtime, which entered at number five.

Ice Age, an animated tale about a woolly mammoth, continues to stay in the top 10 after seven weeks, netting £8.8m in box office sales.

Top five UK films

1. About a Boy

2. Panic Room

3. Bend it Like Beckham

4. The Scorpion King

5. Showtime

UK cinemas are gearing up for some big openings in the coming weeks and months with Stars Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones being one of the most highly-anticipated movies of the year.

This opens on 16 May, with many fans already booking up seats for its opening weekend, despite widespread disappointment following the last Star Wars film.

Spider-Man is expected to be another huge summer blockbuster, mirroring its record-breaking opening weekend in the US.