Entertainment’s comedy sequel opens with over $21m (£12.5m), including previews, for the biggest debut of the year.

Having recorded the third biggest opening Wednesday of all time, it wasn’t a question of whether The Inbetweeners 2 would be top of the UK box office, but by how much.

The result? Entertainment’s comedy sequel posted debut of over $21m (£12.5m), including previews, for the year’s biggest opening ahead of Transformers: Age of Extinction’s $19.7m (£11.75m) which included a hefty $13.4m (£8m) in previews.

However, it fell just short of its predecessor’s $22.2m (£13.2m) UK bow from 453 sites, including $7.7m (£4.6m) in previews.

That film went on to take a mighty $75.6m (£45m) in the UK and while the sequel faces a challenge to get close to that, strong reviews and word-of-mouth should see it enjoy a lengthy run.

DISNEY

Despite the arrival of The Inbetweeners 2, Guardians of the Galaxy enjoyed an excellent $5.6m (£3.3m) second weekend.

Disney’s latest Marvel outing has now reached $23.2m (£13.8m) after just 11 days in play and will shortly overtake Thor’s $23.6m (£14.04m) UK haul. It’s in a great position to hit £20m and potentially surpass Iron Man 2’s $35.6m (£21.2m) as the third best Marvel Studios release in the UK.

Also for Disney, Planes 2: Fire & Rescue expanded nationwide and flew to $1.7m (£1.04m) from its 496 sites for $1.9m (£1.1m) to date. That’s down on the $2.9m (£1.7m) nationwide opening of Planes from its 508 sites on its way to $15.1m (£9m) overall.

FOX

With a very respectable drop of 41% in its fourth weekend, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes charted third with $2.9m (£1.7m).

Fox’s sequel is now up to $45.4m (£27.1m) in the UK and will cross the £30m mark by the end of this weekend at the latest. It will soon overtake stablemate X-Men: Days of Future Past to become the year’s second best performer, behind only The Lego Movie’s $57.4m (£34.2m) UK haul.

Also for Fox, How to Train Your Dragon 2 continues to soar after a fall of just 19% in its seventh weekend saw it add $1.5m (£893,581) for $32.7m (£19.5m) to date.

UNIVERSAL

As expected, Secret Cinema’s current production of Back to the Future was steady in its second weekend, falling only 3% for $876,000 (£522,000) and a tally of $1.9m (£1.14m) to date through Universal.

Also for Universal, both The Purge: Anarchy and Step Up 5: All In fell 61% on their way to $537,000 (£320,000) and $252,000 (£150,000), respectively.

The horror sequel now stands at $6.6m (£3.96m) and has overtaken its predecessor in the UK, while the latest Step Up instalment has grossed $1.5m (£908,000) and will end its run as the lowest grosser of the series.

Boyhood fell 37% in its fifth weekend to add $237,000 (£141,000) for a terrific $3.7m (£2.23m) to date.

WARNER BROS

Animation The Nut Job recorded a second weekend of $767,000 (£457,000) through Warner Bros, and has so far stashed away $3m (£1.77m) in the UK.

PARAMOUNT

Falling over 50% in its third weekend, Paramount’s Hercules sliced its way to a further $713,000 (£425,000) for $7.8m (£4.63m) to date, surpassing director Brett Ratner’s last UK outing, Tower Heist.

Also for Paramount, Transformers: Age of Extinction stands at $32m (£19.07m) following a $290,000 (£173,000) weekend, and may now struggle to hit £20m.

EONE

Now in its third weekend, Earth to Echo grossed a further $255,000 (£152,000) for $3.6m (£2.2m) to date through eOne.

STUDIOCANAL

StudioCanal’s animation The House of Magic posted a $198,000 (£118,048) third weekend for $1.9m (£1.13m) to date.

Also for StudioCanal, Mood Indigo fell over 50% in its second weekend to add $41,000 (£24,403) from its 33 sites for a UK tally of $218,000 (£129,896) so far.

ARROW FILMS

John Slattery’s feature directorial debut God’s Pocket, featuring one of the last screen performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman, recorded a UK bow of $90,000 (£53,911), including just over $5,000 (£3,000) in previews, from its 55 sites through Arrow Films.

ARTIFICIAL EYE

Film London Microwave production Lilting got off to a non-final $54,000 (£32,334) start in the UK from its 26 sites through Artificial Eye.

ALTITUDE FILM DISTRIBUTION

Welcome to New York recorded a UK bow of $25,000 (£14,771) from its 11 sites through Altitude Film Distribution.

PECCADILLO PICTURES

Showing in 18 sites (but only with full shows throughout the weekend at the Curzon Mayfair), Peccadillo Pictures’ Wakolda grossed $24,000 (£14,110) on its UK debut.

KOCH MEDIA

Released in 26 sites through Koch Media, skateboarding documentary All This Mayhem rode to a $21,000 (£12,247) UK debut.

UPCOMING RELEASES

This week sees a saturation release for Lionsgate’s The Expendables 3 (opens Aug 14) as Vertigo Films’ The Unbeatables expands nationwide.

Koch Media’s Hector and the Search for Happiness, eOne’s The Rover and StudioCanal’s The Congress all receive wide releases, while Lionsgate’s Blood Ties and Kaleidoscope’s The Notorious Mr. Bout are among the films receiving a limited release.