Dec 19, 2008–Universal Picture’s romantic musical comedy Mamma Mia! has ended the decade long reign of Titanic in the UK becoming the highest grossing movie ever to be released in the U.K. The record was broken just a few days after the film picked up two Golden Globe nominations for best picture (musical or comedy) and best actress (musical or comedy) for star Meryl Streep.
Commenting on Mamma Mia!’s success, David Kosse, president of Universal Pictures International said: “For Mamma Mia! to make history in this way and beat Titanic, which has held the record in the U.K. since 1998, is truly phenomenal. This film has exceeded our expectations and delighted audiences around the world since it opened in July. This box-office record is a tribute to producer Judy Craymer, director Phyllida Lloyd, writer Catherine Johnson and our brilliant cast who worked so hard on this film.”
Per Nielsen/EDI, Mamma Mia! has beaten longtime UK box-office record holder Titanic (£69,025,646) to gross £69, 068,073 to date followed by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (£66,096,060) at number three (see chart below).
Now in its 23rd week of release in the U.K., Mamma Mia! has become the number one film of the year in 15 countries including Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Cyprus, Iceland, Slovenia and Sweden. It recently crossed the $570 million mark worldwide becoming one of Universal’s top grossing and most profitable movies ever.
Meryl Streep leads the all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the beloved musical which stars Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Stellan Skarsgård and Dominic Cooper.
The film, still currently on nationwide release, was directed by Phyllida Lloyd and produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman. Executive producers are Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Mark Huffam. Screenplay was written by Catherine Johnson with music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.
