BOX OFFICE BLASTING OFF $200 MILLION TAKE A RECORD.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

A record Memorial Day weekend at the box office, led by ``Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones'' and ``Spider-Man,'' has the movie industry on the fast track to surpass last year's record take of $8.35 billion.

The record-shattering combined grosses of more than $200 million not only set a Memorial Day weekend record but also a record for the biggest-grossing four-day holiday weekend ever.

``To reach over $200 million in just these four days, we've never seen it and you historically have had a lot of big films in the marketplace this time of year,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

These new holiday weekend benchmarks bumped the industry 22 percent ahead in box office receipts and 18 percent ahead in terms of attendance compared with the same period last year, according to final figures released by the studios Tuesday.

``We could surpass the $9 billion mark this year and we could have a summer approaching $4 billion for the first time ever,'' Dergarabedian said.

The official summer season begins with Memorial Day weekend and concludes with Labor Day. Last year, a record $3.06 billion box office was established with a seemingly endless stream of blockbusters.

But none of last summer's films can compare with the numbers being posted by ``Clones'' and ``Spider-Man,'' which have already entered into all-time record categories and continue to perform strongly.

In its second weekend, ``Clones'' earned $60 million and in the process became the second-fastest film to cross the $200 million mark (12 days). ``Spider-Man,'' which became the fastest movie to hit the $300 million mark Friday, continued its remarkable run as it added $36 million to its gross for a cumulative total of $333.6 million.

``These are just the opening shots of the summer,'' Dergarabedian said. ``It's going to be a monster.''