The film of the Abba-themed musical Mamma Mia! has become the biggest ever selling DVD and the first movie disc to top five million sales, the Official Charts Company said.

The DVD success crowns the movie’s lucrative run at the box office, where it earned more than £69 million to be one of Britain’s highest ever grossing films.

The movie attracted an enthusiastic older female audience for its feel-good recreations of Abba classics belted out by Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Julie Walters.

Only released on mid-November, the DVD sold just over five million copies, taking it past the 4.7 million racked up by the previous all-time best seller, Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl.

Also benefitting from the Mamma Mia! effect was the film’s soundtrack, which sold a million copies to become the year's best-selling compilation.

The Swedish pop group’s greatest hits album Abba Gold also joined in the party, with sales of 410,000, making it the year’s 19th best selling album.

The year’s second most popular DVD was Batman movie The Dark Knight, which sold 1.5 million copies.

In third place was another female-friendly DVD – the film version of the hit US series Sex and the City.

Walt Disney-Pixar animated adventure Ratatouille was the fourth biggest hit DVD of the year, with magical fantasy Stardust coming fifth.

Online retailer Amazon said the Mamma Mia DVD had been its best selling item in the UK this year, beating JK Rowling’s Harry Potter spin-off The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Reuters