“Terminator Salvation,” starring Christian Bale as leader of the resistance against the cyborgs, topped the British weekend box office with ticket sales of 6.94 million pounds ($11 million), Sony Pictures Releasing said on Monday.

The strong performance, handing the movie the biggest British film opening so far in 2009, will go some way toward making up for disappointment in the key North American market, where the film grossed $43 million during its opening weekend last month.

That left it trailing Ben Stiller comedy “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” which made $53.5 million.Time Warner Inc-owned Warner Bros. paid $50 million for domestic distribution rights for Terminator, which cost an estimated $180-200 million to make.

The fourth film in the franchise, and the first not to star Arnold Schwarzenegger, was distributed in Britain and most international territories by a Sony Corp unit.

Source: Reuters