UK box-office revenues for 2008 saw a 5% increase on the previous year, according to figures released by the UK Film Council (Ukfc). The figures, collated by Nielsen EDI, show box-office takings in the UK and Ireland totalled $1.3bn (£949.5m) in 2008, compared with $1.2bn (£907m) in 2007, making it the highest year on record.
Several of the year's top films made significant contributions to the total box office, most notably the number-one film, Universal's Mamma Mia! The Movie. Its performance surpassed all expectations to become the highest-grossing film of all time in the territory, with $95.4m (£69.2m) since its July opening, breaking the record Twentieth Century Fox's Titanic has held since 1997.
Bond film Quantum Of Solace also made its mark, grossing more than $68.9m (£50m) for Spri, while The Dark Knight amassed $67.1m (£48.7m) for Warner Bros.
Paramount Pictures International's Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa enjoyed good end-of-year business, taking just under $27.6m (£20m) and inching Iron Man out of the top 10.
The overall box office did not appear to suffer from the absence of the latest in Warner Bros' franchise, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, which was initially scheduled for a November 2008 release but was pushed back to July 17 this coming summer.
| Top 20 films in the uk 2008 | ||||||
| Title | Distributor | Box-office Gross | ||||
| 1 | Mamma Mia! The Movie (US-UK) | Universal Pictures Int'l | £69.2m | ($95.4m) | ||
| 2 | Quantum Of Solace (US-UK) | Sony Pictures Releasing Int'l | £50.8m | ($70.1m) | ||
| 3 | The Dark Knight (US) | Warner Bros | £48.7m | ($67.2m) | ||
| 4 | Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (US) | Paramount Pictures Int'l | £40.2m | ($55.4m) | ||
| 5 | Sex And The City: The Movie (US) | Entertainment Film Distributors | £26.4m | ($36.4m) | ||
| 6 | Hancock (US) | Sony Pictures Releasing Int'l | £24.7m | ($34.1m) | ||
| 7 | Wall-E (US) | Walt Disney Smpi | £22.8m | ($31.4m) | ||
| 8 | High School Musical 3: Senior Year (US) | Walt Disney Smpi | £22.7m | ($31.3m) | ||
| 9 | Kung Fu Panda (US) | Paramount Pictures Int'l | £20.1m | ($27.6m) | ||
| 10 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (US) | Paramount Pictures Int'l | £20m | ($27.5m) | ||
| 11 | Iron Man (US) | Paramount Pictures Int'l | £17.2m | ($23.7m) | ||
| 12 | The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian (US) | Walt Disney Smpi | £11.7m | ($16.1m) | ||
| 13 | The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (US-Ch) | Universal Pictures Int'l | £11.4m | ($15.7m) | ||
| 14 | Sweeney Todd (US) | Warner Bros | £11m | ($15.2m) | ||
| 15 | The Spiderwick Chronicles (US) | Paramount Pictures Int'l | £10.6m | ($14.6m) | ||
| 16 | Step Up 2 The Streets (US) | Universal Pictures Int'l | £10.5m | ($14.5m) | ||
| 17 | Four Christmases (US) | Entertainment Film Distributors | £10.2m | ($14.1m) | ||
| 18 | Juno (US) | Twentieth Century Fox | £9.7m | ($13.4m) | ||
| 19 | Wanted (US) | Universal Pictures Int'l | £9.66m | ($13.3m) | ||
| 20 | Cloverfield (US) | Paramount Pictures Int'l | £9.5m | ($13.1m) | ||
| Source: Screen International/EDI | ||||||
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