Harry Potter helps British movies rake in £1.65billion worldwide

Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix not only broke box office records but also helped other British movies gross a whooping 1.65billion pounds worldwide last year.

London, July 22 : 'Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix' not only broke box office records but also helped other British movies gross a whooping 1.65billion pounds worldwide last year.

The movie raked in 469million pounds worldwide, with more than 49million pounds at the UK box office alone.

The schoolboy wizard's frenzy made last July 2007 Britain's biggest cinema-going month for 40 years, supported by The Simpsons Movie and Transformers.

Movies like Atonement, Hot Fuzz and Mr Bean's Holiday, also accounted for more than one in four cinema tickets sold in the UK in 2007.

"We not only make big budget films, but also hugely successful smaller indie films," The Sun quoted UK Film Council chief John Woodward, as saying

Moreover, box office takings have soared by 50 per cent in a decade.

Top grossing UK films worldwide in 2007:

1. The Order of the Phoenix (£469m),

2. The Bourne Ultimatum (£221m),

3. The Golden Compass (£127m),

4. Mr Bean's Holiday (£113m),

5. Stardust (£67m),

6. 1408 (£61m),

7. Casino Royale (£50m),

8. Fred Claus (£48m),