The explosion in purchases of DVDs has failed to dent the cinema industry, with record takings at the box office last year.

The number of DVDs sold grew by 36 per cent in 2004 after a better-than-expected Christmas, lifting the value of the market to more than £2bn. Box office revenues increased by 4 per cent to £838.7m over the same period, according to Nielsen EDI, the box office website. Cinema audiences grew by 5 per cent to 175m, estimated the Cinema Advertisers Association.