Movie News

Record year for US film

Fri 07 Mar 11:50 AM

US box office takings had a record year in 2007 thanks to blockbusters like Transformers and the third instalments of Spider-Man, Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean.

According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), cinema takings were up 5.4 per cent after scoring $9.6 billion in 2007. However, the increase in takings have been credited to last year's rising ticket prices, which rose on average of about five per cent rather than bums on seats. The number of cinema tickets sold (1.4 billion) were roughly the same as 2006.

It's welcome news to Hollywood, who have had a tough time of late due to the writer's strike which crippled the industry for months.

"Ultimately we got our Hollywood ending," said MPAA chairman Dan Glickman. "Once again, diverse, quality films and the timeless allure of the movie house proved a winning combination with consumers around the world."

And it wasn't the only box office record breaker - worldwide takings also rose to an all time high. Globally, Cinemas took $26.7 billion, which was up 4.7 per cent from 2006.