Hollywood set to smash record

Spider-Man has been a major contributor to the success

Hollywood film studios are on course to better last year's landmark takings of $8.35bn (£5.4bn), having already notched up a 7% increase in sales at the US box office.

Last year's total marked the first time that US box office figures had topped $8bn (£5.2bn).

But bumper sales in 2002, even before the release of some of the year's biggest films, look likely to set a new record of more than $9bn (£5.8bn).

And some industry watchers are even predicting that ticket sales could hit $10bn (£6.5bn).

Blockbusters

Early contributors to this increase have been the first of the big summer season releases.

They include Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and the live action version of the comic book heroics of Spider-Man.

Goldmember is among this summer's eagerly awaited films

Crowd-pleasers still to come before the autumn include the sequel to the hit sci-fi comedy Men in Black, which is out in the US on 3 July.

The first version made more than $250m (£163m) in the US and $587m (£383m) worldwide in 1997.

Hot on its heels will be the next Austin Powers adventure Goldmember, plus Road to Perdition - a project between actor Tom Hanks and director Sam Mendes.

Later in the year, there will still be James Bond's 20th mission, Die Another Day, and the second Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter films to look forward to.

Cool

The summer season is always the most profitable time for cinemas in the US.

Movie houses usually rake in around 40% of their annual takings from May to September.

And this year has seen a 23% rise in summer ticket sales on last year.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets will give an autumn boost

Box office tracking company Exhibitor Relations estimate a final summer total of $4bn (£2.6bn).

Besides the films themselves, other attractions draw audiences to the movies over the main holiday season.

Cinemas are a cool haven when the heat is on outside.

Studio executives say better films are released over the summer. Advertisers say the promotion of films is stronger at this time.

Copying

Whatever the reason for the summer boost, this year it will add to Hollywood's overall predicted bumper pot of gold.

James Bond's latest is released later this year

But studios hoping to rake in millions will have to take account of the continually rising cost of marketing and distributing a film.

In 2001, the average budget for launching a movie went up by $4m (£2.8m) to $31m (£21.8m).

Video piracy is also thought likely to increase, with high-speed internet services becoming more widely available.

Movie fans will therefore be able to download more films faster and share them with other computer users.