The UK’;s love affair with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost shows no sign of running out of juice. Having previously made their mark with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the duo’;s alien romp Paul generated a highly respectable US$9.2m at UK box office in its opening weekend.

The figure makes it the third best launch of the year so far, with the momentum expected to continue across the school half-term holidays.

Produced by Working Title, the film was shot in New Mexico over a seven week period. It stars Pegg and Frost as two sci-fi geeks on a UFO road trip across the US. When they get to Roswell, they meet a real alien – and the fun begins.

A big boost for the film’;s fortunes is the involvement of Hollywood icon Sigourney Weaver, best known for her roles in the Alien Franchise and Avatar. Weaver has been out on the UK promotional circuit, appearing on Graham Norton’;s late night chat show for example. As for the alien, his name is Paul, also the title of the movie. Created using CGI, he is voiced by Seth Rogan (40 Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up).