Film on Abba's music is the winner that (almost) takes it all

The film Mamma Mia!, a musical comedy based on the music of the 1970s pop group Abba has become an unlikely success story placing first in this year's box office hits.

"Nobody would have predicted that Mamma Mia! would have done so well. We did not have any high expectations for the film, so it's a surprise it placed well," Alex Pace, KRS Film Distributors' manager said.

Not only did the film surpass the distributors' expectations but it also played for a whopping 21 weeks and is still showing on a number of screens across the island. The average blockbuster usually has a run of eight weeks.

Its success is unexpected because it appeals in particular to older women, a demographic usually ignored by most blockbusters. However, the combination of a star-studded cast, including Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, and the Abba songbook struck a chord with viewers.

At the UK's box office, Mamma Mia! became the highest grossing film of all time surpassing the mark established by Titanic a decade ago and raking in £69 million.

In Malta, Titanic fails to be shifted from its top position by the feel-good musical and, although it did well in Malta, Mamma Mia! placed one position short of the top 20 films of all time.

"Although both films ran for about the same number of weeks, it raked nowhere near the amount as Titanic," Mr Pace said, adding that they were still calculating how many people actually watched Mamma Mia! on the big screen.

The musical also went on to become the biggest ever selling DVD and first movie disc to top five million sales, according to the Official Charts Company. The soundtrack fared well selling a million copies to become the year's best-selling compilation.

Meanwhile, on the local box office chart, James Bond's Quantum Of Solace, which did not receive rave reviews from international critics, placed second.

Coming in third was The Dark Knight, the Batman thriller that had generated a lot of buzz after one of the leading actors, Health Ledger, who played the part of the Joker, died just after he finished filming.

It pushed the anticipated Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, starring Harrison Ford, to fourth place. Coming 19 years after Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, the third in the series, this film had been expected to do well.

Meanwhile, Sex And The City and the Chronicles Of Narnia - Prince Caspian failed to make it to the top 10.

The top 10 films of 2008

1. Mamma Mia! (comedy/musical)

2. Quantum Of Solace (action/thriller)

3. The Dark Knight (action/thriller)

4. Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (action)

5. Hancock (action/comedy)

6. Enchanted (fantasy)

7. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (comedy/drama)

8. Kung Fu Panda (animation)

9. I Am Legend (drama/sci-fi)

10. Alvin and the Chipmunks (comedy)