Money Money Money - Mamma Mia tops the Box Office

(Getty)

Mamma Mia! The Movie has enjoyed the biggest film opening for a musical in the UK, a picture company said today.

Universal Pictures International UK said its Abba-themed movie, released last week, has generated Money, Money, Money - already taking more than £7.6 million here.

The film is also the biggest movie opening that its star Meryl Streep has ever had in the UK, beating The Devil Wears Prada, Universal said.

And Polydor Records said Mamma Mia! The Soundtrack Featuring the Songs of Abba is on track to be the biggest-selling album of the week.

Early figures from the Official Charts Company showed the album not only at the top of the compilation chart but also outselling all releases on the artist albums chart.

Mixed, mastered and produced by Abba's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, the album, out on Polydor Records, features songs sung by the cast of the film.

This week also sees Gold - Abba's Greatest Hits poised to shoot back into the top 10 of the artist album chart, with another 11 Abba-related recordings in the albums charts and 22 in the singles charts, Polydor said.

HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: "Abba are one of HMV's consistent best-selling artists, up there with the likes of the Beatles and Elvis, and it doesn't take much to spark a bit of an Abba revival - let's face it, most of us would pick them as our 'guilty pleasure'.

"Right now, their sales are rocketing again thanks to the huge exposure being given to their music by the success of the Mamma Mia film.

"Amazingly, Abba Gold is back in our top 10, while the cast recording soundtrack to Mamma Mia itself could easily end up as our biggest-selling album this week.

"Further evidence of the band's enduring appeal comes in the form of the singles charts, which show the likes of Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes It All, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme and Mamma Mia all threatening to re-enter the official UK top 100 on the strength of downloads alone."