Wreck-It Ralph and The Croods, both computer-animated family films, topped the UK box office in 2013”s first quarter. The figures, released by the BFI on Thursday (25 April), reveal the films took second and third place, with Oscar-winning Les Misérables ranking on top earning over £40m.

The results, complied by the BFI, also reveal admissions in January 2013 were up 26% compared to 2012.

Nearly £42m in cinema tickets were sold in the UK, up 3% on the same period the previous year.

Tom Hooper”s Les Misérables – which picked up three awards at this year”s Oscars – earned £40.2m at the box office from January to March 2013. Following behind was Wreck-It Ralph, which earned over £23m. At number three was The Croods, which took just over £23m.

Both of the animated films feature the voices of Hollywood A-listers, with John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman lending their vocal talents to Wreck-It Ralph, and Nicolas Cage and Emma Stone among the voices in The Croods.

Two other family films to make it into the top 10 were Disney”s Oz: The Great and Powerful, and Warner Brothers” Jack the Giant Slayer (the latter film was shot at Longcross Studios).

For films aimed at an older audience, Django Unchained – Tarantino”s crack at a western – came in fourth earning over £15m. Despite a panning from the critics, Bruce Willis” fifth outing as maverick cop John McClane in A Good Day to Die Hard earned over £10m, ranking seventh.

The results prove that films aimed at a family audience still have hefty pulling power at the box office. It also shows that family audiences still regard cinema as good light relief, especially since the beginning of the year saw such cold and bleak weather here in the UK.

The full list of top ten films released in the UK and Ireland from January to March were as follows: