Roland Emmerich’s disaster epic 2012 has shot to the top of the world-wide box office with an estimated global haul of $225 million.

The figures represent the fifth biggest international opening of all-time for a blockbuster. In America, the film took $65 million to claim top spot at the box office.

Ironically, that figure was just below the $68.7 million for Emmerich’s previous personal best, The Day After Tomorrow. But distributor Sony Pictures were delighted, with distribution president Rory Bruer declaring triumphantly: “I felt the Earth move.”

“Audiences responded to the amazing images they were seeing throughout the film’s campaign. This movie really did raise the bar, even for Roland Emmerich,” he added.

Elsewhere at the US box office, Robert Zemeckis’ Disney’s A Christmas Carol slipped to second spot with a further $22.3 million, taking its total to $63.3 million in two weeks of release.

But new opener Pirate Radio (aka The Boat That Rocked in the UK), from writer-director Richard Curtis, failed to make the US top 10 with just $2.9 million.

Next story: Clint Eastwood made French Commander

• Delicious
• Digg
• Reddit
• Facebook
• Stumbleupon