X-Men knock "Da Vinci" off top of UK box office

LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - The ''X-Men'' mutants cracked ''The Da Vinci Code'' to knock their blockbuster rival off the top spot at the UK box office, Screen International said today.

''X-Men: The Last Stand'', the final film in the Marvel comic book trilogy, took 7.1 million pounds in its first weekend.

The movie, which stars British actors Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Ian McKellen as the evil Magneto, comfortably knocked ''Da Vinci'', based on the Dan Brown's best-selling novel about a Vatican cover-up, into second place.

The much-hyped but badly reviewed thriller saw its takings fall to just under 5 million pounds in its second week on general release.

Comedy animated adventure ''The Wild'', about an assortment of animals on the loose from New York Zoo and featuring the voices of Keifer Sutherland and Eddie Izzard, was a new entry in third.

Tom Cruise's ''Mission: Impossible III'' dropped to fourth with Bollywood film ''Fanaa'' a new entry in fifth.

''Curious George,'' an animated comedy about a monkey with a taste for adventure, was new in sixth with romantic comedy ''Prime'', starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep, falling to seventh.

''Ice Age 2: the Meltdown'' was in eighth, its eight-week takings almost reaching 30 million pounds, ahead of comedy drama ''Friends With Money'', starring Jennifer Aniston, which debuted in ninth, with comedy ''Waiting'' in 10th.

REUTERS SHB VC1655