Brad beats Russell in epic battle

Troy beat Gladiator in the battle of the box office epics by taking more than £30m (€44.1m) on its opening weekend in the United States.

The two films were separated by four years, but the industry was intrigued to see which one would come out on top.

Brad Pitt got about £6m (€8.8m) worth of bragging rights over rival hunk Russell Crowe, whose Gladiator took £24m (€35.3m) on its release in May, 2000.

Although it didn’t prove quite the summer blockbuster predicted after all the pre-release hype, Troy was still the second highest grossing adult non-sequel movie after Eminem’s 8 Mile.

Kate Beckinsale’s Van Helsing slipped to number two, with £13m (€19.1m).