The new James Bond adventure, Die Another Day, has taken more than �1.2m on its first day of general release in the UK.

The film, the 20th official Bond movie, was released on Wednesday.

This is seen as particularly impressive given the film was released in the middle of the week and not a Friday.

The film, starring Pierce Brosnan, is expected to post an impressive five-day weekend figure - from Wednesday to Sunday - that will be much higher than the last Bond picture, The World Is Not Enough.

The film includes a spectacular chase scene in Iceland

That film took �6.3m at its launch in November 1999.

Die Another Day was shown at 430 sites across the UK, taking over �2,900 per cinema screen, according to figures compiled by trade magazine Screen International.

Bond films are traditionally big earners in the UK and Ireland. Pierce Brosnan's three previous roles as Bond have all been multi-million pound hits.

According to Screen International, his first Bond film Goldeneye, in 1995, has taken �19m, 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies has taken �22.4m and The World Is Not Enough has taken �31.2m.

But the Bond film's opening compares poorly with Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, which made �2.1m on its midweek launch day in December 2001.

The second instalment of the fantasy trilogy, The Two Towers, opens next month.