Incompetent spies and cruel dictator brats

The Rowan Atkinson action-comedy sequel Johnny English Reborn proved to be the most successful film of 2011 amongst local audiences - according to KRS Film Distributors - as it enjoys a 13-plus week run at the cinemas following its release early last October.

Trailing closely behind is The Devil's Double - the critically panned action-drama about Uday Hussein's body double - which was mostly filmed in Malta in the summer of 2010.

Apart from action and adventure, comedy and animation dominate the Top 20 list of the most popular films of the year... perhaps putting paid to one concern of many international filmgoers: that following the advent of 3D cinema - and coupled with the recession and the parallel rise of online piracy - studios are resorting to 'safe' blockbuster fare that tends to net the ever-lucrative child-and-young-adult market.

Indeed, the infantile road film Hangover Part II bagged as many audiences in Malta as the aforementioned top films, doubtlessly riding on the success of its predecessor - a mad romp through Las Vegas in which a group of friends are forced to retrieve their soon-to-be-married compatriot when he goes missing after a night of revelry that they've managed to black out of their minds thanks to assorted substances. 

The action in the sequel is moved to Thailand, upping the stakes with exotic animals and locales but retaining a very similar plot. Shoulder-to-shoulder with the Hangover boys was that other American comedy cash cow, Adam Sandler, whose beachside plastic surgery comedy of manners Just Go With It - co-starring Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman - also played for 13 weeks.

A more interesting take on the romantic comedy genre, Crazy Stupid Love - an ensemble piece starring Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone - also did very well, securing a place in our cinemas for 11 weeks, along with the workplace revenge caper Horrible Bosses and, more impressively, equalising with the super-blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth in the hugely successful, Johnny Depp starring pirate fantasy series.

Less surprising was the success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, as fans of the phenomenally popular JK Rowling fantasy series were allowed to give the boy-wizard an emotional send-off for 10 weeks. Given how this was the concluding act of a long-running and much-loved series, it wouldn't be surprising to discover that ticket sales may have included repeat viewings since there doesn't appear to have been any controversy - among both critics and hardcore fans - over the film's quality, as reviews and reaction remained positive throughout.

Equally successful was the latest instalment of another long-running film series - though miles away from Harry Potter in every respect - as Fast and Furious Five, the Vin Diesel starring motoring actioner, also enjoyed a 10-week stay at the cinemas.

3D animation was a sure-fire winner, with Pixar predictably scoring a healthy attendance as they presented Cars 2, while another animated sequel - the self-explanatory Kung Fu Panda 2 - didn't fare too badly either. Audiences also warmed to Rio, whose colourful rendering of the titular Brazilian city took full advantage of recently-blossoming 3D technology and scored 10-week stay at the cinemas.

Back to basics, Water for Elephants, a love triangle drama set in a WWI-era circus, charmed audiences for nine weeks, and neither did quality go completely ignored: the year's Oscar darling The King's Speech stayed on for just as long.

Notably absent from Malta's Top 20 are two international hits. Transformers: The Dark of the Moon - the third and supposedly final of Michael Bay's explosion ridden, vulgar robot-toy action blockbusters - didn't make the cut, and neither did The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, the beginning of the end for the most successful young adult film series since Harry Potter.