Gladiator leads DVD sales record

DVD star: Russell Crowe in Gladiator

Gladiator was the biggest-selling DVD in the UK last year, helping sales of the discs quadruple compared with 1999's figures.

The British Video Association said the Roman epic, starring Russell Crowe, sold more than half a million copies, beating The Matrix and The Sixth Sense, which both sold more than 300,000.

A total of 16.6 million digital video discs were sold in the UK in 2000, with 4.7 million being sold in December alone, which includes a million sold in the week before Christmas.

This compares with just over four million sales during the whole of 1999.

DVDs, which play films from information stored on a CD-sized disc, have only been generally available in the UK since 1998.

Traditional video cassettes still sold well, with over 98 million pre-recorded VHS tapes being bought in the UK, seven per cent more than in the previous year.

British Video Association director general Lavinia Carey said: "DVD video is now clearly established as a leading format.

"The public love it, and more and more people are going to want it in increasing quantities."

But Ms Carey added: "It will be a long time before DVD overtakes VHS as the main carrier for video content.

"The continued growth of VHS sales is also heartening, although we cannot expect this to continue forever."