Once again worldwide ticket sales determined what was successful in theaters and what was not. Tentpole Sequels like Harry Potter, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Fast Five and the Rise of the Planet of the Apes drew $3.4B. While you may be tired of seeing sequels, as long as the box office till rings, they’ll continue to make them.

Children and family fare was next in line with the Toons category bringing in $1.49B. The next category in line is a little surprising to some: R-Rated Comedies drove $1.31B in sales. The growing popularity of the commercial R-Rated film started with The Passion of the Christ, the first R-Rated film to break the $100M barrier. Prior to its release, no one in Hollywood would dare put large budgets into an R-Rated film.

Superhero films were next in line with $1.3B, followed by Family Live Action at $329M. Adult Dramas were at $217M and Romancers $128.1M. Adding in miscellaneous categories put the total summer at $4.03B, up 5% from 2010, with a 3% increase in attendance.

The studios are already gambling on the summer hits for 2012, which includes:

The Avengers (May 4)
Dark Shadows (May 11)
Battleship (May 18)
Men in Black III (May 25)
Rock of Ages (June 1)
Prometheus (June 8 )
Brave (June 22)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (June 22)
The Amazing Spider-Man (July 4)
Ice Age: Continental Drift (July 13)
The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)
Neighborhood Watch (July 27)
The Bourne Legacy (August 3)
Total Recall (August 3)
The Expendables 2 (August 17)