Summer of adventures at the cinema

A blockbuster summer at cinemas was announced by film distributors today.

Many of the year's big adventure movies will be released in the coming months including Iron Man 2, Prince of Persia and a re-make of television series The A-Team.


Big hitters: Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jnr in Iron Man 2. Above right, Gemma Arterton in Prince of Persia

There are also long-awaited sequels to previous hits, from Toy Story 3 and Shrek Forever After to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Sex and the City 2.

Announcing the line-up today, the Film Distributors' Association — whose members account for 96 per cent of films in cinemas — also promised more releases in 3D than ever before.
It follows a strong start to the year with British box office receipts standing at £291.1 million for the first three months — 16 per cent higher than the same period last year. London accounted for £76 million of the total, setting a record for the capital.


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Cinemas defied the recession last year as UK admissions hit a seven-year high of 173.5 million with record receipts of £945.7 million.

Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton has been the most popular release of this year so far with one in 10 of the population seeing it in the first six weeks.

Sex and the City 2 has attracted brands such as Lastminute.com and Dulux, which have never previously advertised in cinemas. Box office takings for the sequel are predicted to beat the £26.4 million for the first film about Carrie Bradshaw and her friends.

Lord Puttnam, president of the Film Distributors' Association, said movies in 3D were going from strength to strength and it was exciting to have new films from the likes of Ridley Scott, with Robin Hood, and rising star Noel Clarke, with 4-3-2-1. "Here's to a terrific summer at the movies," he added.

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