Two Towers tops box offices

Box office hit: Orlando Bloom in The Two Towers

The second Lord of the Rings film is on top of the box office charts on both sides of the Atlantic this Christmas.

The Two Towers took £8.6m in its first three days on release in the UK and Ireland, as well as the $62m (£38.8m) it took across North America between Friday and Sunday.

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets held onto second place in cinemas in the British Isles, taking £1.2m in reciepts.

Liv Tyler in The Two Towers: The film has two Golden Globe nods

The boy wizard has amassed £46m in sales in just six weeks on release.

The latest James Bond film, Die Another Day, took £1.1m, with seasonal comedy Santa Clause 2 taking just over £1m.

Fifth in the chart, compiled by Screen International, was new entry Sweet Home Alabama, starring Reese Witherspoon as a New York fashion designer. It took nearly £800,000.

In North America The Two Towers has already taken well over $100m ($62.6m) - a 33% rise on the first week's takings of the first Lord of the Rings film.

The figures add extra shine to a successful debut for the film, made as part of a trilogy which cost $260m (£162m).

Last week it was nominated for two Golden Globe awards, including best dramatic film.