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According to the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), shows like the French Revolution-themed classic and Richard Bean's new production One Man, Two Guvnors starring James Corden are the reason for a rise in ticket sales.

For the eighth year running, sales have increased, with takings hitting the £528 million mark, statistics show.

Last year's figures included sales from 52 of the biggest theatres in and around central London and showed that takings had increased by 3.1% in comparison to 2010's figures.

SOLT's president, Mark Rubinstein, said the society are 'extremely proud' that London's theatres have achieved another record-breaking year of sales, with many performances confirming they, too, had record-breaking runs.

'Despite the prevailing rigours of the economic climate, theatre-goers have acted with their feet and wallets and shown just how much they value a trip to one of our world-class shows,' he said.

'We can confirm buoyant box office advances for 2012, a year in which we look forward to welcoming millions more national and international visitors through our theatre doors.'

But attendances dipped slightly in 2011, to just fewer than 14 million. SOLT said this was due to large new productions opening, which meant venues had to close while the shows were set up.

Meanwhile, those who enjoy a trip to the cinema have added to the success of the UK's picture houses.

The British Film Institute revealed ticket sales increased by 1.4% last year, with admissions reaching 171.6 million, and earnings rising by 5%, taking them up to £1.04 billion.

And the final Harry Potter movie - Part 2 of the Deathly Hallows - was last year's top earning film, with J.K. Rowling's magical character raising £73.1 million at the box office.

Trailing behind Harry was The King's Speech, which sold £45.7 million worth of tickets in 2011.

Close by was The Inbetweeners Movie, which reported takings of £45 million.

Natalie Thomas