Oliver Hirschbiegel's Princess Diana biopic failed to set the box office alight in its opening weekend, finishing in fifth place for the Friday-Sunday frame.

Diana, which was mauled by critics, took an estimated £623,051 over the three-day period. The Naomi Watts film's opening takings are lower than the £2.15m box office debut of The Iron Lady and the £856,000 debut of 2006's The Queen.

However, the film marked Hirschbiegel’s best-ever UK opening, according to Screen Daily. The Downfall director’s previous best of £233,000 came in 2007 with the release of The Invasion.

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Topping the UK box office was James Hunt biopic Rush. It nabbed £1.34m for a total take of £4.7m. Last week's number one, Insidious: Chapter 2, lost more than 60 per cent of its audience to finish second with £1.1m.

White House Down and Richard Curtis's About Time finished third and fourth respectively, according to estimated figures.

Universal's R.I.P.D. grossed a small £505,000, though its performance fell in line with expectations following a poor showing in the US. There was happier news for the distributor as Despicable Me 2 took £220,000 for a running total of more than £46m, further extending its lead atop the 2013 overall chart.

Arthouse hit The Great Beauty nabbed a strong £96,395 for a total of £479,013.