DVD sales of the first installment of the Lord of the Rings saga helped high street music group HMV ward off an ugly Christmas trading period.
Other popular titles, including Minority Report, Goldmember and the first series of The Office also alleviated the gloom experienced by other shopping chains.
Bestselling CDs during Christmas included titles by Robbie Williams, Blue and Red Hot Chillie Peppers.
Books which sold well included Susannah Constantine and Trinny Woodall's What Not to Wear and Schott's Original Miscellany.
Purchases were up in both its music shops and in Waterstone's bookshops.
For the five weeks to January 4, like-for-like sales at its HMV stores rose 4.2 per cent, while at the recovering Waterstone's chain they were up 5.6 per cent.
Chief executive Alan Giles said: "Following a strong Christmas, when every one of the group's businesses performed well, we remain on track to meet our financial targets."
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