Incredibles 2 defeats box office as it’s FINALLY released in the UK

The animated comedy was brought out several weeks later than the US on our shores, ostensibly due to fears that the World Cup would overshadow it.

Screen Daily reports that the film made £9.7 million in its opening weekend, including £9.5 million from Friday-Sunday and the rest from its limited previews.

That was far and away enough to beat new Dwayne Johnson caper Skyscraper, which finished second with £1.5 million.

Incredibles 2 earned the best opening for any animated movie in history in the US but didn’t quite manage the same feat here: Toy Story 3 still holds that title with an £11.5 million three-day opening.

But the new adventure did beat the launches of Finding Dory (£8.1m), Toy Story 2 (£7.8m) and The Incredibles (£6.3m).

In order to eclipse the first film’s overall British takings, the sequel needs to pass £32.3 million – which could be achievable heading into the school summer holidays.

Further down the chart, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is at No3 in its sixth week on release, while The First Purge drops to fourth and Ocean’s 8 manages a fourth week in the Top 5.

Things could get interesting this weekend with Mamma Mia sequel Here We Go Again hitting the market too.

While it should be a giant hit, it may not have front-loaded success with a giant opening-weekend.

Appealing to an older audience, the film isn’t one that punters will be rushing to see straight away – instead it could have a longer, more sustained stay in screens over the summer break.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout then follows on July 27, before Ant-Man and the Wasp is finally unveiled in the UK on August 2.

Over in the US this weekend, Skyscraper also failed to ignite – settling for a third-place finish with $25.5 million.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation performed better than expected to take No1, with Ant-Man and the Wasp dropping to No2.

Incredibles 2 is out now.