'Mamma Mia!' is top-grossing film in U.K.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Universal Pictures said Tuesday its movie musical "Mamma Mia!" is now the highest-grossing movie ever to be released in the United Kingdom.

"Titanic" had been the country's box-office titan for a decade before "Mamma Mia!" -- a movie chock full of ABBA hits and featuring a cast led by Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan -- came along and sank it.

"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," David Kosse, president of Universal Pictures International, said in a statement. "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."

Nielsen/EDI said "Mamma Mia!" has earned $105,642,501 at the box office, while "Titanic" earned $105,573,999 and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" $101,087,337 during their theatrical runs.

"Mamma Mia!" has also been the No. 1 film of the year in 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, the studio said.

The film was released on DVD in the United States Tuesday.