As the summer season ended in the US on Labor Day, September 3, the headlines in the US consumer and trade media trumpeted an all-time box-office record. Revenues were up by nearly 9% on last year, hitting an unprecedented $US4.18 billion. That beat the previous record summer of $3.95 billion in 2004.

Not only was it the first time the $4 billion barrier had been surpassed, four blockbusters- Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End – each pulled in more than $300 million, an historic feat. And in another first, 15 movies earned $100 million or more during the summer season, which began on May 1.

Yet beneath the hype and the headlines, there were several signs of cold economic reality. The actual number of tickets purchased - 610 million – was way below the peak summer of 2002, when audiences gobbled up 653 million tickets.

In fact the season was only the sixth-best for attendances in the US in the modern era, since the Golden Age of the 1930s, '40s and '50s.

The production budgets of Spidey 3 and Pirates 3 both soared past $300 million, according to Deadline Hollywood Daily columnist Nikki Finke. To that you could add at least $50 million in marketing expenses. Meaning that, in sum, these films were not the goldmines they may appear to be.

While there were no high-profile disasters, commentators reckoned Sony lost money on its animated comedy Surf’s Up, and Universal won’t recoup the reported $210 million budget of Evan Almighty, the sequel to Bruce Almighty, minus Jim Carrey.

(A common fallacy in sections of the media is the belief that a film’s earnings at the box-office go straight to the studio or producer; the fact is that the cinema owner, or exhibitor, keeps about 50% of ticket sales. And after you deduct advertising and print costs, studio overheads and distribution fees, the actual return to the studio/producer shrinks dramatically. It’s why many ‘hit’ films through the years technically never go into profit).

So what does all of that mean in Australia? Well, the record US summer was mirrored by buoyant ticket sales here. Box-office takings through the end of August were running about 6% ahead of the same period in 2006.

There were some unexpected breakthroughs (or sleepers, in industry parlance) in both countries. Knocked Up, for example, proved you don’t need a big budget, marquee stars or a ‘high’ concept to sell a ton of tickets and keep audiences amused from start to finish.

Superbad, another raunchy comedy from the Judd Apatow stable, was tracking to repeat its US success in Australia, where it debuted on September 20.

And 300 demonstrated that epic movies with lavish battle scenes can be conjured up relatively cheaply, using CGI, without audiences feeling as if they’ve been short-changed.

However several of the US blockbusters have not performed proportionately as strongly in Australia. Top of the list of under-achievers is Spider-Man 3, the year’s biggest-earner in the US, where it grossed $US335 million.

In Australia, the web-slinger fell to earth after making $A23.9 million*, perhaps indicating the film didn’t quite live up to the expectations of some Spidey fans.

Another sequel, Ocean’s Thirteen, may have outstayed its welcome in both markets, selling just $12.2 million worth of tickets here.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which has pocketed $7 million in Australia, hasn’t matched the drawing power it showed in the US, perhaps surprisingly given Adam Sandler’s hefty popularity here.

As a rough rule of thumb, Australian exhibitors usually expect US hits to make about one-tenth of their US earnings here, ignoring the exchange rate. So by that yardstick, Shrek the Third ($US320 million in the US; $33.5 million Down Under) and Pirates III ($US308 million; $33 million) were in the ballpark.

Among the over-achievers were Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which pulled in $US278 million there and $35.3 million here, continuing the tradition of Potter pics being much bigger magnets overseas than in the US; and The Simpsons Movie ($US180 million; $31 million).

Transformers raked in US$310 million in the US, but for a movie based on toy robots, Australian exhibitors were ecstatic with its $27.6 million bounty.

The Catherine Zeta-Jones/Aaron Eckhart confection No Reservations, directed by Australian Scott Hicks, has been a crowd-pleaser in Australia. It benefited from being one of the few romantic comedies, pitched mostly at older women, released in the past few months.

And Amazing Grace has attracted sizable audiences, the story of Wilbur Wilberforce, the man who did much to abolish British transatlantic slavery, resonating especially well among church groups.

Aussie exhibitors have also been pleased with the takings for The Bourne Ultimatum, Die Hard 4.0, Hairspray and Ratatouille.

However Michael Moore’s Sicko died a quick death at Australian cinemas, as folks evidently didn’t relate to his expose of the US health care industry. Those who did see it would have emerged thankful we have Medicare.

*All Australian box-office figures courtesy of the MPDAA, current through September 17.