A British academic believes she has found the holy grail that all Hollywood seeks — the recipe for making box office hits time after time.

As the movie world’s movers and shakers gather in Cannes for the annual film festival Sue Clayton from London University may be the answer to their prayers.

“I analysed frame by frame what elements were present in different film genres and what made certain films successful,” the lecturer in screen writing and directing said on Tuesday.

According to Clayton the blueprint for the perfect film is for it to have: 30 per cent action, 17 per cent comedy, 13 per cent good versus evil, 12 per cent sex/romance, 10 per cent special effects, 10 per cent plot and eight per cent music.

Clayton, who is also a movie director, said she was careful to examine different film types. “It was important to look at all film genres and not just the big box office winners — that would have skewered the research,” she told Reuters.

While Shakespeare in Love (Picture shows Gwyneth Paltrow in the film) scored close to having the right combination of ingredients it could have done with more special effects, Clayton’s research suggested. As for the film that matched the recipe closest, that honour went to Toy Story 2.