Hollow victory at US Box Office

Kevin Bacon is the star of Hollow Man

Sci-fi thriller Hollow Man has taken the US Box Office by storm, raking in $26.8m (£17.8m) in its opening weekend.

Breaking records for an August opening, the film roared past last week's number one - Eddie Murphy's Nutty Professor II - to land top spot for director Paul Verhoeven.

Clint Eastwood's new film, Space Cowboys, which the 70-year-old directed, produced and starred in, came in third taking $17.6m (£11.7m).

Also starring Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland, the film scored the biggest opening in Eastwood's career.

Special effects

Space Cowboys is a tale of ageing pilots on a NASA mission

Hollow Man's triumph marks a career best for Dutch director Verhoeven, surpassing his earlier successes Total Recall, Starship Troopers and RoboCop.

The film, which stars Kevin Bacon as a research scientist who makes himself invisible, received poor reviews, but audiences piled into cinemas regardless.

The film's stunning special effects are responsible for its success according to Jeff Blake, distribution president at Sony Pictures.

"There's no question that we were selling a package by a guy who has a lot of credibility in the genre," Blake said.

Into orbit

Space Cowboys, by contrast - a film about space programme pioneers who finally get their chance to go into orbit - has received critical acclaim.

With its cast of Hollywood veterans, the film attracted mature moviegoers who have otherwise been ignored by this summer's studio releases.

Eddie Murphy plays most of the parts in Nutty Professor II

"These four guys have been entertaining America for years and they have a great fan base," said Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman.

Eastwood, whose previous best openings are In the Line of Fire (as an actor) and Unforgiven (as a director), was said to be "very, very pleased".

Sales slide

Overall ticket sales slid for the second consecutive weekend with the top 12 films grossing $116.5m (£77.6m), down 4.3% from last weekend and down 15.3% from the same time a year ago.

Nutty Professor II, which earned an estimated $18m (£12m) this weekend, lost 58% of its audience but has made a healthy $76.5m (£50.9m) in its first 10 days.

New Teen-oriented "Cinderella story" Coyote Ugly came in fourth with $17m (£11.3m).

Rounding off the top five is last week's number two, the Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford supernatural thriller, What Lies Beneath, which earned $13.9m (£9.3m).