Hurley movie wilts in the heat

Hurley has had a mixed Hollywood career

Liz Hurley's latest film has had a poor reception in the UK - taking just £30,624 in its first two weeks in cinemas.

Comic drama Double Whammy, also starring Dennis Leary and Steve Buscemi, failed to enter the top 15 in the British box office charts.

By comparison, action blockbuster The Matrix took almost £9m in its second week of release - while Hulk made £1.3m in its second weekend.

Even a less mainstream release such as the German satire Goodbye Lenin! made £135,000 in its first outing last month.

BIGGEST UK OPENINGS OF 2003 Matrix Reloaded - £12.2m Bruce Almighty - £7.3m X2 - £7m T3 - £6m

In Double Whammy, Hurley, 38, plays a chiropractor who falls in love with an accident-prone policeman, played by Leary.

It was hoped Hurley's name would prove a box office draw, building on her well-received roles in films such as the first Austin Powers movie.

But it looks like following a similar fate to its reception in the US, where it was mauled by the critics and went straight to DVD.

The movie has opened on just 10 UK screens, and its fate has not been helped by the hot weather.

"When it's like this, people just don't want to sit in a cinema," said Robert Mitchell, a box office analyst with Screen International.

"A lot of films have been suffering - even the blockbusters like Hulk and Terminator 3, but also Buffalo Soldiers and Whale Rider.

"But (Double Whammy) is a very small film. It's got nothing to sell it here in terms of its acting - though it might have worked better in April."