The recovery has begun for us and the recovery has begun very strong

John Fithian, National Association of Theater Owners

Jack Valenti, chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), attributed the rise to good ticket sales for Cast Away and Hannibal.

He released the figures ahead of the annual "state of the industry" address to cinema owners at a convention in Las Vegas, saying: "The curve is rising."

But it was not all doom and gloom last year - the total box office take grew to a record $7.7bn (�5.2bn).

The average price of a ticket continues to rise in the US, to $5.40 (�3.70), as did the average cost of producing a movie, up from $51.5m (�35m) to $54.8m (�37m).

Hannibal is the big success of 2001

Valenti defended recent increases in ticket prices in some places such as New York, where the cost of going to a movie recently broke the $10 (�6.80) per ticket barrier.

The MPAA said the average cost of a movie ticket compares to $17 (�11.60), on average, for a baseball game, $44 (�30) for a football game and $65 (�44) for a rock music concert.

"This is the most inexpensive ticket in town, the best bargain for two or three hours," Valenti said.

He had a positive message for film-goers, studios and cinemas, saying they would continue to "travel the sweet road that leads to success" so long as customers were provided with "an epic viewing experience they cannot duplicate in their homes".

'Strong recovery'

He also said it was vital that "each new generation of filmmakers enlarges and beautifies the art of visual story telling".

John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, also echoed Mr Valenti's broad optimism.

"The recovery has begun for us and the recovery has begun very strong," Fithian said.

Ten major cinema chains in the US are currently operating under bankruptcy proceedings.