The cinemagoers of Ireland, north and south, have made Meet the Fockers the box-office champion of 2005, according to final figures for the year as supplied to Reel News by the distribution trade.
The commercial supremacy of that rather crude sitcom sequel is one of several surprises in the results for the year. Another is that King Kong missed the top 10 and ranked 14th, whereas The Chronicles of Narnia, which opened just a week earlier, landed in seventh place.
The figures cover box-office returns for the 32 counties from January 1st to December 29th, 2005. The top 10 - which is dominated by sequels, remakes and franchise pictures - reads as follows:
1. Meet the Fockers €5.16m
2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory €5.11m
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire €4.75m (still on release)
4. Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith €4.20m
5. Madagascar €3.70m
6. War of the Worlds €3.58m
7. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe €3.22m (still on release)
8. Wedding Crashers €3.07m
9. Mr & Mrs Smith €2.97m
10. Nanny McPhee €2.91m (still on release)
