A flock of blockbuster original movies and sequels this year -- from Spider-Man to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -- has the movie industry breaking box office records for the second straight year.

Helped by a record November, the movie industry already has surpassed its entire 2001 box office take with sales of $8.21 billion, according to Nielsen EDI Inc., which tracks the movie industry from Hollywood, Calif.

For all of 2002, sales are expected to exceed last year's $8.13 billion by 9 percent to 12 percent.

Movie theater companies may also post their highest admissions figures since the 1950s, surpassing last year's 1.49 billion people, according to statistics from the National Association of Theater Owners.

That would indicate real growth at the box office rather than ticket-price inflation, said Dan Marks, executive vice president of Nielsen EDI.

"This year is poised to be the best ever in modern times," he said.

Unlike retailers that typically count on the holiday shopping season for a profitable year, the movie industry's most critical period is the three-month summer season.

"The difference for theater owners between [the rest of the year] and holiday season is not as dramatic as it is for retailers, but it's still important," said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, which has more than 500 members in the United States.

This year's strong performance is welcomed by an industry that's been beset by closings and bankruptcies.

Some of the nation's largest theater chains -- such as Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp. and Carmike Cinemas Inc. -- slipped into bankruptcy, shedding undesirable theater properties before emerging recently.

Regal Entertainment Group, the nation's No. 1 chain, was formed from the remains of three bankrupt companies.

Theater closings gained momentum in the late 1990s after the industry began introducing more modern "megaplexes," with stadium seating and high-tech sound systems that drew people away from older, smaller theaters, said Charles B. McAlpine, an independent entertainment analyst. But the theater companies also racked up too much debt with their expansions.

At its highest point, the movie theater industry had 37,185 screens three years ago. After the spate of closings, there are about 35,500 screens -- and that figure probably needs to go down to the low 30,000s, Fithian said.

Nationwide, box office receipts for the Thanksgiving weekend slipped 2 percent from last year's, according to Nielsen EDI, but the month was still the best November ever with box office sales of $944 million -- 6.8 percent more than last year's.

Movie theaters in the Baltimore area reported their share of increases.

AMC Entertainment Inc., the nation's second-largest theater owner, beat last year's Thanksgiving weekend box office sales at its theaters in Owings Mills, Towson Commons and Security Square, said spokesman Rick King, though he declined to specify a percentage.

At Arundel Mills mall in Hanover, ticket sales at the Muvico Egyptian 24 Theaters increased 20 percent over last year, said Jim Lee, marketing director for Muvico Theaters Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

And the independently owned, five-screen Charles Theater in Baltimore saw its box office receipts over the holiday weekend rise more than 40 percent when compared with last year's results, according to co-owner James "Buzz" Cusack.

"People are getting to know the theater and are comfortable with it," Cusack said. "Business just keeps going up."

The movie industry got an unexpected bump during the first five months of this year, with a 45 percent growth in box office receipts, according to Nielsen EDI figures.

Fithian said the mix of holiday movies this year is very strong compared to last year's selections. Fueling the positive outlook are several anticipated sequels set for release this month, including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Analyze That and Star Trek: Nemesis.

Since last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the economic downturn, moviegoers have flocked to the movies for an escape, Fithian said.

"If you combine economic uncertainty with geopolitical stress," he said, "you have a couple of reasons why Americans need a break that's both local and affordable."