LOS ANGELES (AP):

Times may be tough in the real world. Not in Hollywood.

As it usually does during economic downturns, the movie business has come on strong, expected to set a summer revenue record of about US$4.2 billion from the first weekend in May through Labour Day, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

That would put Hollywood a fraction ahead of the previous record of $4.18 billion in summer 2007, though accounting for inflation, the actual number of tickets sold - about 587 million - is down 3.5 per cent.

sluggish economy

Still, given the sluggish economy, studio executives are happy their business held up so well. It's almost a tradition dating back to the Depression: When the economy goes sour, the escapism and relative cheapness of a night at the movies is an attractive prospect for audiences.

"Let's face it. It is truly one of the least-expensive ways to entertain yourself for a few hours," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony, whose summer releases included Will Smith's latest US$200 million hit, Hancock.

one-eighth of revenues

The behemoth of summer was the Warner Bros Batman sequel The Dark Knight, whose haul - US$500 million and counting - amounted to nearly one-eighth of overall Hollywood revenues.

The Dark Knight passed Star Wars to rank No. 2 on the all-time domestic revenue chart, behind only Titanic at US$600.8 million.

Batman mania already was high as production wrapped last fall, but it grew to a fever after Heath Ledger, who co-stars as the Joker, died in January.