Horror film 28 Days Later has topped the UK and Ireland box office charts for the second week - but previews of the new Harry Potter movie dominated cinema takings.

Director Danny Boyle's film about life in Britain after a deadly virus takes hold took �1,073,000 at 320 sites.

28 Days Later is a clear leader in the official chart

But three days of previews of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets grossed �7,861,704 from 522 sites - taking more than the top 15 films in the British Isles put together.

The film is not eligible for the charts until its official release date on Friday, and figures for the weekend previews - plus another day of advance screenings on Thursday - will be added to its totals for next week's chart.

Cinemas took delivery of 1,263 prints of the film, which trade paper Screen International, which collates box office statistics, said took up around 40% of cinema screens in the UK.

UK/Ireland top five

1: 28 Days Later (�1.07m) 2: Mr Deeds (�746,070) 3: XXX (�622,944) 4: Changing Lanes (�562,573) 5: Lilo & Stich (�374,234) 6: My Big Fat Greek Wedding (�277,997) 7: Rabbit-Proof Fence (�220,395) 8: Red Dragon (�178,431) 9: Orange County (�167,051) 10: Donnie Darko (�129,175) Source: Screen International

The first Potter adventure, The Philosopher's Stone, took �64.3m in the UK after it opened 12 months ago, and cinemas will be hoping The Chamber of Secrets can eventually overhaul that total.

Apart from the two new entries, all films in this week's box office chart saw takings drop compared with the previous week.

Winona Ryder's romantic comedy Mr Deeds, also starring Adam Sandler, is second on the chart, taking �746,070 from 307 cinemas, while Vin Diesel's XXX is third with �622,994 from 383 sites.

New entries were Australian drama Rabbit-Proof Fence, at number seven with �220,395 from 99 locations and US comedy Orange County, starring Jack Black, Lily Tomlin and Chevy Chase, which debuted at number nine, with �167,061 from 162 cinemas.

Festival hit The Magdalene Sisters took �74,027 from 35 cinemas in Ireland, placing it at number 11 in the chart. The controversial film, about young women who are abused by nuns, opens in the UK in February.

Another critically acclaimed film, Scottish drama Morvern Callar, took �52,837, from 17 cinemas, mostly in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, putting it at number 12 in the chart.