Star Trek Into Darkness boldy knocks Iron Man 3 off UK box office top spot with £8.4 million

The sci-fi film took £8.4 million on its opening weekend

Star Trek Into Darkness has knocked Iron Man 3 off the top spot at the UK box office after it took £8.4 million on its opening weekend.

The 3D sci-fi sequel beat its predecessor Star Trek, which earned £6 million in its debut weekend in 2009.

Iron Man 3 added £3.2 million to its earnings in its third week of release this weekend, with overall UK takings of just over £31 million.

But the Marvel reboot still holds the title for the biggest UK opening in 2013 with takings of £13.7 million, beating Star Trek Into Darkness and Les Miserables by £5 million. The musical took £8 million on its first weekend in January.

Elsewhere, new Matthew McConaughey drama Mud came in at number seven in the UK box office, after taking a respectable £239,037 from just 71 locations.

US comedy 21 and Over claimed third place in the chart with second weekend takings of £581,000, while dance movie All Stars added £498,000 to its first week's tally.

The Croods moved back into the top five, taking a further £384,000. The DreamWorks animated comedy has now grossed more than £25 million in the UK and Ireland.