LONDON - MT - The beleaguered Will Smith blockbuster After Earth has scored a respectable opening weekend in the UK following its poor reception in the US.
According to trade paper Screen International the film - which sees Smith starring alongside his son Jaden - topped the UK box office charts in its first three days on release with takings of £2.25m.
And while it falls far short of the opening weekends scored by recent blockbusters - including Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness - it still finished well ahead of its nearest box office rival, The Hangover Part III. That film fell to number two in the charts with takings of £1.1m, following a fortnight in pole position.
After Earth stars Smith as General Cypher Raige, who together with his son Kitai, crash-lands on Earth over 1,000 years after the human race has fled. With Cypher injured Kitai has to make a perilous journey summon help via their rescue beacon - leaving him at the mercy of the aliens and other creatures that now inhabit the planet.