'Dark Knight' tops U.K. box office

LONDON, July 28 (UPI) -- "The Dark Knight" is No. 1 at the U.K. box office, earning more than $22 million during its opening weekend, Warner Bros. Pictures International said Monday.

Director Christopher Nolan's second Batman movie features Welsh-born actor Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader and late Australian film star Heath Ledger as the villainous Joker.

The movie co-stars Britain's Michael Caine and Gary Oldman, as well as U.S. actors Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The box office hit entered the U.K. record books as "The Dark Knight IMAX" release took in more than $600,000 at five IMAX cinemas, Warner Bros. said.

"We knew 'The Dark Knight' was a fantastic film, and it is wonderful that both the critics and the cinema-going public here in the U.K. feel the same way," Josh Berger, president and managing director of Warner Bros. U.K., said in a statement. "This weekend's clear No. 1 opening, which received critical and commercial box office success, is testament to the outstanding film making and cast of this stunning film, much of which was shot here in Britain. We look forward to a long and successful run this summer."

The film has reportedly earned $314 million in gross receipts in the United States since its release there earlier this month.