Shrek 2 has beaten Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban to become the biggest box office hit of the year (04) so far in Britain.

The Dreamworks animation about a loveable green ogre voiced by Mike Myers has taken nearly $90 million (GBP50 million) in UK ticket sales.

Harry Potter: The Prisoner Of Azkaban came second with grosses of $82.8 million (GBP46 million). The top three is completed by Spider-Man 2, which has raked in $47.88 million (GBP26.6 million).

According to the UK Film Council, cinema attendance has boomed by 10 per cent, with more than 117 million tickets sold this year (04).