Shrek 2 was the summer's most successful film in the US

Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were the most successful films in US cinemas between May and September.

Just one of the top five films, The Day After Tomorrow, was not a sequel.

The number of tickets sold dropped slightly, but rising prices meant the $4bn haul was 3% up on 2003's total.

Shrek 2 has taken more than $436m (�245m) - making it the third most successful movie of all time in the US, behind Titanic and Star Wars.

US SUMMER HITS 1. Shrek 2 - $436m 2. Spider-Man 2 (above) - $370m 3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - $247m 4. The Day After Tomorrow - $186m The Bourne Supremacy - $159m

Spider-Man 2 earned $370m (�208m), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban made $247m (�140m) and The Day After Tomorrow took $186m (�105m).

In fifth place was The Bourne Supremacy, a sequel to The Bourne Identity, taking $159m (�90m).

Other summer hits included I Robot, Troy, Van Helsing, Dodgeball and Fahrenheit 9/11 - which, with $117m (�65m), became the highest-earning documentary in history.

Cinemagoers were "reasonably satisfied", said Marc Shmuger, vice chairman of Universal Pictures, which released The Bourne Supremacy, Van Helsing and Thunderbirds.

"I don't think they were extraordinarily satisfied, but you know what? At the end of the day, reasonably satisfied is not a terrible report card."

Choice

A total of 638 million cinema tickets were sold, down almost 1% from last summer, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Exhibitor Relations' president Paul Dergarabedian said: "This was a pretty good summer. You had a solid mix of blockbusters, some great documentaries and indie films.

"This is what audiences want. They're looking for a choice. If you couldn't find a movie you wanted to see this summer, then you should stop going to see movies."