Following the roar heard around the world, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has also conquered the UK box office, taking £8m in its debut weekend to make the film Disney's biggest British opening since Toy Story 2.

The CS Lewis adaptation pushed the other, slightly more pagan, children's book adaptation, JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, into second place, with £2.1m.

In third place was the post-9/11 thriller and Jodie Foster vehicle Flightplan, down from second spot last week with £671,978. Keeping Mum, the comedy about the unholy goings on in a vicarage, kept hold of the fourth spot with £338,718.

In fifth place was courtroom drama The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which fell from third spot last week but still racked up £338,122.

The top 10 was rounded out by Doom (£262,563), Mrs Henderson Presents (£205,982), The Constant Gardener (£188,614), March of the Penguins (£183,798) and Nanny McPhee (£70,579).