Brian Lara Knocks Animals from Top Spot

And there's proof that having a movie license is never a bad thing.

Many people bemoan the omnipresence of games based on movies and with good reason: most of them are rubbish. But a glance at the latest UK charts tell you why companies will not be shying away from the movie tie-in any time soon.

Three of the five best selling games in the UK are based on films, with the latest climber being Take 2's iteration of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The game flew up the rankings after the movie hit screens across the country this past Friday, taking the game from 16th to 5th on the chart.

Meanwhile, Brian Lara's cricket game sneaked into the premier position for the week, ahead of Activision's Madagascar. This is the first time in the eight years that Chart Track has followed the UK games market that a cricket game has been in the No. 1 spot.

Not much else has changed, though, as the remainder of the Top 10 shuffled to make room for the Oompa Loompa-themed game. There was one new release in the Top 40 - UK-based Team 17's Worms 4: Mayhem parlayed its annelid antics into a 25th place start on the chart.

Below are the top 10 games in the UK for the week ending 30 July, as determined by Chart Track:

1. Brian Lara International Cricket 2005 (Codemasters)
2. Madagascar (Activision)
3. Fantastic Four (Activision)
4. Medal of Honor: European Assault (EA)
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Take 2)
6. Destroy All Humans! (THQ)
7. Cricket 2005 (EA)
8. Juiced (THQ)
9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar)
10. Lego Star Wars (Eidos)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games