British characters a hit at the box office

Films based on characters created by British authors took £6.7 billion in box offices across the world between 2001 and 2005, according to the UK Film Council.

Among the top-grossing films were the film adaptations of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, along with the Harry Potter movies based on JK Rowling's novels.

Other films in the top 20 included Die Another Day, based on Ian Fleming's James Bond series, while Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones character also saw success in cinemas.

This year's most popular British film so far has been The Da Vinci Code, which was largely shot, funded and made by Britons.

Another success was the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, based on the CS Lewis story, while an adaptation of HG Wells' science-fiction classic The War of the Worlds also scored at the box office.

According to the UK Film Council, the amount of money spent on film production in Britain rose by 76 per cent during the first half of 2006, compared to last year.

Titles related to this article

Related/similar articles

• Top 10 Pierce Brosnan (26 August 2010)
• Harris eyeing Moneypenny role (8 July 2011)
• James Bond bosses to stage huge 50th birthday exhibition (4 May 2012)
• Helena Bonham Carter: 'Dual BFI win with Tim Burton eliminates envy' (21 October 2012)
• Stars honoured at Hollywood Film Awards gala (23 October 2012)
• Imelda Staunton picks up theatre award (29 October 2012)