Even though there was no increase, the figures will be good news for the cinema industry, which has been pinning its hopes on the film boosting attendance figures that are largely down on last year.
In the first quarter of 2003, admissions fell 14% on last year, which was a bumper year for cinema attendance, according to the Cinema Advertising Association. Last May, audience figures soared 20% on the previous year.
Debbie Chalet, president of the Cinema Advertising Assocation, said: "This is a strong UK admissions performance. May 2002 experienced growth rates of over 20% last year, so to maintain this level is extremely encouraging."
'The Matrix Reloaded', starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne, was shown for three weeks during May. It took £20.7m at the box office, making it the second-highest grossing film in the UK so far this year, second only to the second film in 'The Lord of The Rings' trilogy, 'The Two Towers', which has taken £28.2m.
'The Matrix Reloaded' took £8.9m in its first weekend -- the highest opening for a 15-certificate film and the fourth-highest opening weekend for any film to date.
'X-Men 2' took £19.4m during May and £5.9m in its first weekend -- making it the third-largest grossing film of the year to date. Rowan Atkinson's latest film 'Johnny English' has taken £18.8m since its release and is currently the fourth largest film of the year.
Films due out this summer include 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'; 'Hulk'; 'Terminator 3'; and a remake of 'The Italian Job', which are all expected to ensure cinema audience numbers are maintained.
Attendance figures are expected to be bolstered again later in the year, which sees the release of the final episodes in 'The Matrix' and 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogies and the latest animated picture from Disney, 'Finding Nemo'.
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