Former Manchester United star Eric Cantona (right) should never have hung up his boots say French movie critics who have viewed his latest film Mookie. It now appears that Mookie, in which Cantona has his first major role, may have to be withdrawn soon from French cinemas because it is so execrable.

Now in its second week, the film is being shown in only 12 cinemas. The critic in the French newspaper Le Parisien dubbed it the most boring film he had ever seen, adding that had he not been paid to watch it, he would have walked out like most of the other weary punters.

Only 10,000 fans nationwide initially bothered to buy tickets at 48 cinemas to see Eric as a runaway boxer, fleeing from the mafia with a monk and a talking monkey as companions - about one sixth the number who regularly turned out to watch him perform for Manchester United. Au revoir Eric.