The winner takes it all!

(From The Northern Echo)

Byline: Steve Pratt

In terms of box office, the top film of 2008 is Mamma Mia! Steve Pratt looks back over a year which boasted quite a few super troupers IT was the year a collection of old ABBA songs proved there was still Money, Money, Money to be made out of them.

When superheroes saved the day at the box office with Iron Man and Batman leading the pack. And when James Bond overcome a French villain and obscure film title to put his backers in 007th heaven.

To sum up, it was business as usual at the cinema in 2008 with as many offscreen dramas as on-screen ones.

Who could have predicted that a musical would have provided one of the year's biggest hits? Or that much-Oscar nominated Meryl Streep would let down her hair, pull on a pair of dungarees and sing her heart out against sunny Greek island scenery? .

Mamma Mia! has become the biggest ever movie in the UK, overtaking Titanic as the highest ever grossing film. Iffy reviews failed to dent the public's desire to enjoy a couple of hours escapism away from the …