Visit the cinema this week and there are no fewer than eight new titles vying for your business. And this is a relatively quiet week. Sometimes there are more than a dozen pictures released, many with massive marketing campaigns behind them and big name stars on the posters, keen to tempt you inside to buy a ticket. Cinemagoers have never had it so good. Granted you won’t feel that way if you’ve just endured Paris Hilton being out-acted by her hairdo in The Hottie and the Nottie, but let’s not intrude too far into private grief.


Gone are the days when one or two blockbusters would lumber into the local cinema and stay there for months. Now the multiplexes and arthouses are quick turnaround businesses, keen to get punters visiting as often as possible.


Scheduling films for release is a complicated business. Or at least that’s what you’d think given the amount of date shuffling that goes on. The big releases - Indiana Jones, for instance, or Iron Man - have opening dates set in quick drying cement. There’s too much spent on marketing, and the stars’ calendars are so busy, that the date, once chosen, is pretty much untouchable.


Distributors of other titles have to look at the calendar and guesstimate when their ideal window of opportunity will open. For kids films it’s easy - any of the school holidays, Christmas or summer in general. Family movies do best at Christmas, when several generations are gathered in one place and want to see something that will appeal to all. The student market is flush with cash at the start of term, when all that lovely loot is still in the bank and thoughts of loan repayments are buried in with the dirty laundry. Otherwise, distributors look at what else is on that week and decide if their title fits into the mix.


The blockbusters usually send everyone else fleeing. Hardly anyone, so far, is taking on Sex and the City when it arrives on May 28. It’s not always the case, though. Sometimes, a batch of big titles will open against each other if they’re different enough to appeal to separate audiences. On the June 13 week, for instance, The Hulk (teen market, family, men) goes on release alongside M Night Shyamalan’s The Happening (sub arthouse, Mark Wahlberg watchers), In Search of a Midnight Kiss (indie romance) and Priceless (chick flick, first date, or pretty much anyone over 40 who holidays in France).


Whatever you think of the quality of the films, you have to admire the width of interests they represent. In any major city there’s usually something for everyone any night of the week. Judging by the increase in attendances, ticket sales and multiplex profits, audiences like the freedom of choice. Last month, Cineworld reported a £12.4 million pre-tax profit in place of a £7 million loss the previous year. Harry Potter had a lot to do with working that magic. Can Indie achieve a similar feat in May?


Coming soon
Next week: a young cast, led by director Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry) try to lift the box office curse hanging over Iraq-related movies in Stop-Loss. www.stoplossmovie.com
May 2: Fantasy adventure in Nim’s Island, starring Little Miss Sunshine Abigail Breslin. www.nimsisland.com
May 9: Anton Yelchin and Robert Downey Jr clash in the Ferris Bueller-style comedy, Charlie Bartlett. charliebartlett-themovie.com
May 16: Hair waxing and manicures at dawn in the Beirut-set chick flick Caramel.
May 22: Book your tickets now to see a certain Mr Jones ride again in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. www.indianajones.com


Pick of the week
Happy-Go-Lucky. Like its heroine, Mike Leigh’s comedy drama is a love or loathe affair. A superb performance from Sally Hawkins won this cynic over.