"Da Vinci" tops UK box office, but shy of record

LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) Despite a host of bad press reviews, ''The Da Vinci Code'' has gone straight to the top of the UK box office charts, although some way short of the record British opening, Screen International said today.

The thriller, based on the Dan Brown's best-selling novel about a Vatican cover-up involving Jesus Christ and his supposed offspring, took 9.5 million pounds (17.9 million dollars) in its first weekend.

Worldwide, the movie boasted the second-biggest debut ever with 224 million dollars, but in Britain its opening takings were some way short of the record 14.9 million pounds the fourth Harry Potter film took last November.

Tom Cruise's ''Mission: Impossible III'' was pushed down to second place, but its takings of 1.8 million pounds were still three times as much as romantic comedy ''Prime'', starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep, which was in third.

Animated caper ''Ice Age 2: the Meltdown'' was in fourth in its seventh week in the top 10 during which it has earned almost 29 million pounds.

US comedy ''Waiting'' was a new entry in fifth, while horror movie ''When a Stranger Calls'' dropped down to sixth.

''Confetti'', an improvised romantic comedy featuring some of Britain's best-known comedians, dropped to seventh with ''Brick'', starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a high school loner on a mission to track down his girlfriend, unchanged in eighth.

Bruce Willis action movie ''16 Blocks'' fell to ninth while horror movie ''Silent Hill'', based on a video game, was 10th.

REUTERS SHR KN1823