Children’s Favourites Dominate Easter Box Office
The latest figures from the Cinema Advertising Association show children’s films riding high throughout April, cashing in on the lucrative Easter holidays to secure the highest UK cinema admissions since 1972.
Both Scooby Doo 2 and Cat in the Hat performed well, securing the top two spots with revenues of £14.4 million and £6.8 million respectively. Scooby Doo’s performance was particularly impressive, making it the second biggest film of the year so far.
Controversial Jesus biopic, Passion of The Christ, also secured itself a place in the charts, grabbing third place with box office takings of £6.6 million despite mounting opposition from religious groups.
| Rank | Film | April Box Office |
| 1 | Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed | £14.4m |
| 2 | The Cat in the Hat | £ 6.8m |
| 3 | The Passion of the Christ | £ 6.6m |
| 4 | 50 First Dates | £ 6m |
| 5 | Shaun of the Dead | £ 5.6m |
| 6 | Gothika | £ 5.2m |
| 7 | Kill Bill: Volume 2 | £ 4.6m |
| 8 | Starsky & Hutch | £ 3.8m |
| 9 | Dawn Of The Dead | £ 2.9m |
| 10 | Monster | £ 1.6m |
| Source: CAA | ||
Children’s films look set to further saturate movie charts this summer, with the highly anticipated Shrek 2 and the third installment of the popular Harry Potter series slated for release sometime in June and July.
Commenting on the figures Christine Costello, vice president of the CAA, said: “April provided a good mix of film releases allowing cinema to continue to attract a broad range of audiences and thus show strong year on year increases. With admissions figures for 2004 now largely on a par with 2003, and with a bumper film line-up ahead, we remain confident that this year will outperform last year.”
Cinema Advertising Association: 0207 534 6363
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