Ryan Dunn

By PAUL THOMPSON

Hit: Toy Story 3 was the most successful film of this year, earning £700million worldwide

Family films reigned at the box office in 2010 with half of the top ten grossing films aimed at young children and teens.

The animated movie Toy Story 3 was the most successful of them all earning almost £700million worldwide.

Even without a major Hollywood star appearing on screen the enduring story of Woody and Buzz Lightyear eclipsed all the other blockbuster films released in 2010.

Not even the most talked about stars, including Angelina Jolie and Tom Cruise, came close to matching the pulling power to the characters created by Pixar studios.

Mad about it: Alice In Wonderland, starring Johnny Depp, came in second place

Only Leonardo DiCaprio in the thriller Inception came close to smashing the dominance of animated films in the last year managing fourth place on the top ten list of highest earning films.

Toy Story 3 took £680million at the worldwide box and was also the most successful film at UK cinemas.

Featuring the voices of Tom Hanks as cowboy Woody and Tim Allen as rocketman Buzz Lightyear, the film is now ranked as the 5th most successful of all time behind Titanic and Avatar.

Critics raved about the third in the series of Disney produced film and audiences flocked to see the conclusion of the series that first began in 1995.

Despite the huge success of Toy Story 3 Disney and animators Pixar have no plans to make a fourth in the series.

Another family film Alice in Wonderland starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter was the second highest grossing film.

The 3D feature took £650million at the box office to earn the runner up place.
The penultimate Harry Potter movie was third taking £536m, according to Forbes business magazine.

Family favourite: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One came in third after taking £536m

Since its release last month Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One has been a runaway success at the box office.

Forbes predicts the release of Deathly Hallows Part Two, the final Harry Potter film released next year,the story of the boy wizard will become the most successful film franchise of all time by earning over £5bn.The thriller Inception was fourth and was the only 'adult' film to make it into the top ten grossing movies of 2010.

Another animated family feature Shrek Forever After was fifth with £475m while two other children's films Despicable Me and How to Train Your Dragon were in the top ten grossing film.

Of all the big budget films featuring special effects only Clash of Titans and Iron Man 2 made the top ten.

Fans of British star Robert Pattinson helped propel the latest Twilight film into the top ten with a box office take of £447m.

Toy Story 3 - Official Teaser Trailer