Britain rules the box office

Harry Potter and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory have helped the British film industry more than double its share of the worldwide box office.

Last year the top 10 films made in Britain took £1,385million compared with £622million in 2003.

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Batman Begins were the top performing British films worldwide.

The figures were announced at the Cannes Film Festival yesterday by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell.

Much of the rise was due to an increased share of the US market and more people watching British-made movies across Europe.

Homegrown productions bucked the worldwide trend which saw a slump in box office takings in 2005. British movies had a 16 per cent share of the North American market and a 20 per cent share of cinema viewers in Germany, France and Spain.

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire was the top performing UK film at the US box office in 2005.

Ms Jowell said British films' success was a result of the efforts made to promote British culture through film.

She said: 'It's testament to our dynamic film industry that Britain enjoyed a strong showing in 2005.'

The Culture Secretary added that she hoped the next Carry on film - starring Shane Richie - would present an 'up-to-date' depiction of women.