The Aft Deck's  Instablog

Despite the doom and gloom, or possibly becuase of it, Hollywood seems to be doing very well. The new "Star Trek" movie beamed up an estimated $72.5 million in North American ticket sales its first weekend in theaters, dominating the box office and re-energizing a 40-year-old science-fiction franchise.

That figure far surpassed the opening grosses posted by any of the previous 10 "Star Trek" films, even when adjusted for inflation, and kept up a robust pace for the second week of Hollywood's summer moviegoing season.

Last weekend's top box office entry, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," still ranks as the biggest film opening so far this year, with $85 million in its first Friday-through-Sunday tally. (NYSE:MVL) (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CNK) reports Thursday that its first-quarter profit more than tripled as consumers continued to seek escapee from the economy’s woes at the movies. Chief Executive Alan Stock said the film industry saw the strongest first quarter box office sales in history, “further demonstrating the resiliency of the industry” amid a challenging economy.

The movie-going surge is even more notable since it comes amid higher ticket prices. Still, theater companies face increased indirect competition from at-home entertainment media, and the industry is heavily reliant on a small number of film-distribution companies, which have been cutting back on production.

Analysts have said they expect summer-movie-season attendance to hold up against last year’s record season.Cinemark’s profit rose to $17.6 million, or 16 cents a share, from $5.3 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier.Revenue rose 6.2% to $425.8 million.

Belltower (OTC:BTOW) with a schedule of 6 films that bring together Academy Award Winning Talent and proven Hollywood performers setting the stage for a great year.

The recently formed Belltower Entertainment BTOW has an attractive capital structure for investors with 37m shares on issue and a float of only 5.1m.

Belltower Entertainment has announced the addition of two new films to its current production slate of six features:

The first is a collaboration with Academy Award-winning writer Barry Morrow (Rain Man) which tells the story of legendary golfer Moe Norman. The film, tentatively titled Dance the Green, will begin filming this summer in Canada.

The second film, titled A Kid for Christmas, is a family comedy being written by Josh Goldstein, whose credits include “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “The Jamie Foxx Show” and HBO’s “Arli$$.” Much of the film will be shot in China.

Belltower is an independent film company based in Los Angeles, with offices in Toronto and Shanghai. Led by founder and CEO Donald Bell, Belltower was formed in 2008 to take advantage of the popularity of independent films and the globalization of the entertainment industry.

We hold Belltower, Archer and several other ENtertainment Equities