Record film year at US box office

Blockbusters such as the first Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter films have helped to boost the total above last year's previous record figure of $8.35bn (£5.21bn).

About 1.5 billion tickets were sold in 2002 - despite an economic slump in the US and a widespread piracy problem in the film industry.

Final box office figures out later this week are expected to show that receipts will be up 10% up on last year.

Paul Degarabedian, who monitors box office activity for Exhibitor Relations, said: "There is every indication that 2002 will be a bumper year for the major studios which have had a number of big blockbusters under their belts."

A study in the Los Angeles Times newspaper showed that more Americans went to the cinema in 2002 than at any time since 1959.

The reasons given were escapism from recession and the threat of terrorism.

The year's five top grossers were Spider-Man, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and the animated feature Monsters, Inc.

All of the films played on old-fashioned themes of human endurance overcoming insurmountable obstacles, and good triumphing over evil.

Spider-Man was the biggest grosser, taking $404m (£252m) in ticket receipts.

It took nearly a third more than the $310m (£193m) raked in by the Star Wars title in second place.

Some surprise hits went on to become "sleeper" blockbusters, including My Big Fat Greek Wedding - the most successful independent movie in history.

It cost just $5m (£3.12m) to make and went on to take more than $200m (£125m).

Another notable hit was rapper Eminem's semi-autobiographical movie 8 Mile, while Steven Spielberg's Catch Me if You Can was also doing well following its release last week.

The second part in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers, grossed about $200m (£125m) in its first two weeks.

More big crowds are expected in the final days of the year for the musical Chicago, About Schmidt starring Jack Nicholson and the Martin Scorsese-directed epic Gangs of New York.

Hollywood's top studios are Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, Universal Studios and Dreamworks.