Da Vinci falls short of UK record

The Da Vinci Code stars Paul Bettany as murderous monk Silas

The Da Vinci Code movie has taken £9.5m at box offices in the UK and Ireland in its first three days of release.

That puts it at number 15 on the all-time list of the most successful opening weekends, according to box office company Nielsen EDI.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which made £23.9m when it made its debut in 2004, holds the record.

And The Da Vinci Code is not the top film of 2006 so far - Ice Age 2 took £275,000 more in its first weekend.

The film performed less well in these countries than it has in the rest of the world.

UK AND IRELAND BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE 1. The Da Vinci Code - £9.5m 2. Mission: Impossible III - £1.84m 3. Prime - £562,000 4. Ice Age II - £457,000 5. Waiting - £308,000 Friday-Sunday. Source: UK Film Council/Nielsen EDI

It took $224m (£119m) in ticket sales around the globe between Friday and Sunday, according to studio estimates - putting it second on the all-time international list.

Only Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, which earned $253m (£135m) in its first weekend last year, has made more money on its debut.

In the US and Canada, The Da Vinci Code raked in $77m (£41m) in its first weekend - the 13th highest opening takings in North American film history.

But it easily eclipsed its box office rivals in the UK and Ireland this weekend, with Mission: Impossible III a distant second with £1.8m.

Uma Thurman's romantic comedy Prime is in third with £562,000, with Ice Age 2: The Meltdown still popular in fourth place with £457,000.

Meanwhile, the government in the north-east Indian state of Nagaland has decided to ban The Da Vinci Code because they say it is "blasphemous and offensive".