Collateral

LONDON (Reuters) - Tom Cruise 's first outing as a screen villain has seduced British viewers and sent his latest film "Collateral" straight to the top of the UK box office, Screen International said on Tuesday.

Cruise plays an assassin in the film but he managed to warm cinemagoers" hearts with a walkabout at its British premiere earlier this month, chatting to fans in Leicester Square for more than two hours. Weekend box office takings amounted to 2.2 million pounds for the thriller, which also stars comic actor Jamie Foxx.

Collateral pushed low-budget shark thriller "Open Water" into second place. The independent film, based on the true story of a holidaying couple stranded in the ocean and surrounded by sharks, has grossed 3.4 million pounds since its UK release.