THE LORD OF THE RINGS - MOVIES BASED ON U.K. BOOKS DOMINATE BOX OFFICE

Movies based on books written by British authors have earned some $13 billion worldwide since 2001, the U.K. Film Council said Wednesday. The films include six of the top ten, including The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter films, The Chronicles of Narnia, The War of the Worlds, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Die Another Day. The Film Council also also reported that spending on film productions rose to $915 million in the first half of 2006, up 76 percent from the same period a year ago. On the other hand, it noted, admissions at British theaters were down 2.6 percent. It blamed the downturn on interest in the month-long World Cup soccer finals.



05/10/2006