Half of this year's 10 highest-grossing movies were sequels, and four of those five were "threequels," as Hollywood studios posted a new record box office total in 2007, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Indeed, six studios exceed $1 billion in grosses, the first time that's ever happened.

Spider-Man 3 topped 'em all, registering $336.5 million in grosses, followed by Shrek the Third at $321 million. Leading the nonsequels was Transformers, which brought in $319.1 million and came in third overall.

Total box office hit $9.62 billion in 2007, which was 5 percent over 2006 and 4 percent over the previous record, set in 2002. The better news for the studios is the increase in ticket sales, which nudged 1 percent higher over last year at 1.41 billion sold. That was the highest total since 2004. (Economists tend to view ticket sales as more relevant figure, as inflation tends to pad revenue figures.)

One of the more lucrative trends for theaters and chains has been the introduction of digital projectors, which are responsible for the growth of on-screen advertising.

As for ticket prices, we paid an average of $6.82 to get in, according to estimates from the National Association of Theatre Owners.

A complete list of the top 25 releases is here.

Comments (0)