Buoyed by a wet summer and the songs of Abba set on a sun-drenched Greek island, UK cinema admissions and ticket sales both rose in the year to October 31 compared to the same period in 2007.


Universal Pictures International's Mamma Mia! The Movie also spelt 'money money money' in Australia, helping to increase box office and admissions year-on-year to November 30. The two territories are poised to be the only international markets to end the year up, as admissions and box office dipped around the world.

And Japan is the only territory set to remain on an even keel. The emphasis has swung back to local films as it did in 2006, with seven of the year's top 10 movies being Japanese.

Homegrown films also look likely to top year-end charts in France, Germany, Italy and South Korea, while Paramount's Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull is on track to be the highest grossing film or highest grossing non-local film in Spain, Japan and France in 2008.

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Screen reporting team: Audrey Ward, Jack Warner, Chris Evans, Nancy Tartaglione-Vialatte, Sheri Jennings, Martin Blaney, Jason Gray, Jean Noh, Elaine Guerini and Sandy George contributed to this report.