Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them stays at the top of the UK box office for a second weekend keeping off Allied which makes its debut at number 2.

With a second weekend gross of £8.8 million Fantastic Beasts has a brilliant second weekend which brings its total gross after 2 weekends of release to £30 million.

This result is actually keeping in line with the Harry Potter series, the latter films had far better first weekends but fell to roughly the same for the second weekend.

The potential for Beasts to go on and make similar to the early Potter films at least is quite high if it keeps on this trajectory.

Landing at 2 this week if the latest Brad Pitt starring film Allied, co starring Marion Cotillard and directed by Robert Zemeckis the drama takes £1.3 million on its debut.

For both Pitt and Zemeckis this is a fairly typical opening gross, although for both this is no where near their highest grossing debuts.

Also new this week is Bad Santa 2 at 4 with &poind;.7 million and very bad reviews, A United Kingdom at 6, Dear Zindagi at 9 and Paterson at 10.

Fantastic beasts this week becomes the top total grossing movie on the chart while Storks is the longest running film at 7 weeks.

Historical charts

A year ago - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 made it 2 weeks at the top of the UK box office while The Good Dinosaur was the top new film.

Five years ago - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 stayed at the top for a second week while My Week With Marilyn was the highest new entry at 3.

Ten years ago - Casino Royale stayed at the top for a second weekend while the top new film was The Santa Clause 3 The Escape Clause at number 3.

Fifteen years ago - Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone was at the top for another weekend, its second, while Spy Game was the top new film at number 2.

Twenty years ago - The First Wives Club stayed at the top for its second weekend of release while The Crow City of Angels was the top new film at number 5.

Twenty five years ago - Point Break was the top new film of the week making its debut at the top while What About Bob fell to number 2 on tis second weekend.

Despicable Me 2 tops the UK box office on it's opening weekend and has the best weekend of the year so far, and grossing more than the rest of the top 10 combined.

Displacing Man of Steel from the top after 2 weeks, Despicable Me 2 came close to grossing £15 million on it's opening weekend beating the year best of Iron Man 3 by more than a million pound.

Also new this week in the top 10 are This is the End at 4 and Hummingbird at 5.

Inline with my predictions for the weekend Despicable Me 2 did indeed top the charts and This is the End had a top 5 entry. Hummingbird entered in the top 5 and although I predicted that I thought a top 10 was more likely.

Last year new at the top of the box office, and knocking Prometheus from the top was Ice Age 2, on limited release it still managed to top the chart with £800,000.

Five years ago it was all change, The Hulk sunk to third place as The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian topped the chart and Wanted landed at two.

Ten years ago there was also a change as Jim Carey starred in Bruce Almighty knocking 2 Fast 2 Furious into the runner up spot.

Fifteen years ago there was no change at the top as City of Angels hung on, the highest new film at 3 was Mimic.