Monsters, Inc was nominated for an Oscar

In the first quarter of the year, total UK cinema admissions were more than 48 million.

That is an increase of 37% on the same time last year, reports Screen Daily.

The figures were boosted by the continued success of two films released in late 2001, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

Rings took �36.6m over the first quarter of 2002, reaching a total UK gross of �61.5m, while Potter notched up a further �6.3m to reach a total of �64m.

The Cinema Advertising Association are predicting that ticket sales will reach 164 million in 2002 - a 5% increase on last year's total of 156 million.

Bend It Like Beckham has been a huge hit

The success of UK movie Bend It Like Beckham will help to bolster the box office.

The comedy, about an Indian girl's wish to play football, took more than �2m at the box office last weekend, the seventh biggest opening for a UK movie ever.

Staying at number two is the prehistoric animation movie Ice Age.

The film has taken �11.6m since its release four weeks ago, with the recent weekend gaining it an extra �948,398.

The future is looking bright for the UK box office with a succession of big movies coming this year.

The sequels to Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, James Bond and Star Wars, as well as Spider-Man, should keep film fans flocking to cinemas.