LONDON -- British video sales rose 18% to 122.4 million units in 2001, powered by the DVD boom.
DVD sales more than doubled to 37.7 million last year, compared to 16.6 million in 2000. By contrast, VHS sales fell 3% to 84.7 million, according to figures from the British Video Association.
"Shrek" was the year's best seller, shifting 2.75 million units since its November release, with DVD accounting for 633,000 (23%) of that total.
"Bridget Jones's Diary" came in second, with 1.8 million sales, including 520,000 (29%) on DVD.
"Cats and Dogs" took third place overall, selling 1.5 million units, with 300,000 (20%) on DVD. But "Gladiator" was third in the DVD charts, selling 500,000 units in the new format.
In December alone, 550,000 DVD players were sold in the U.K. Three million homes are now equipped with DVD, a penetration of 12%.
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