The Inbetweeners Movie pulls in £2.6 million on its first day

Fearne Cotton called it “top notch… laugh out loud stuff.”

Gethin Jones said it was “hilarious! Shock humour all the way!”

And Stuart Baggs declared it “clungetastic…an absolute must see!”

But which new movie release were they describing? Was it Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2? Mr Popper’s Penguins? The Smurfs?

Surprisingly, it was none of the above. These were, in fact, comments tweeted following the premiere of The Inbetweeners Movie (the sort of premiere, incidentally, at which guests are plied not with caviar and blinis, not even with popcorn, but with Spicy Doritos and a can of Tango).

And the high praise for the big-screen spin-off of E4’s cringeworthy comedy looks like being backed up by box office figures.

After just one day of public premieres, the overseas adventures of hapless teens Will, Simon, Neil and Jay have pulled in a whacking £2.58 million.

To put that into perspective, let’s compare it with another notable British film release. Four-times Oscar winner The King’s Speech took just £227,000 from its previews in January, around a quarter of what Inbetweeners has done in one day.

But how would the bawdy Brit flick fare against the big guns - the American blockbuster?

Pixar’s animated behemoth, Toy Story 3 - received with widespread delight by adults and children alike - racked up one of the UK’s biggest ever preview hauls. Yet the £9.69 million it took during a four-day period last summer averages out at just £2.4 million per day, almost £200,000 less than The Inbetweeners Movie.

Of course, Toy Story 3 cost quite a bit to make - around £122 million, in fact - while Inbetweeners had a budget of just £3.5 million.

So if day one’s takings are anything to go by, this thing is going to be huge - and hugely profitable. A triumph for British cinema - and for the geeks and losers in all of us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osbhkEmnecQ