Paul Vercammen: How's Hollywood's summer going?

Paul Vercammen

(CNN) -- For Hollywood, the summer -- traditionally a time of action-adventure blockbusters -- got an early start, with the first summer releases coming out three weeks before the traditional Memorial Day kickoff. CNN "Showbiz Today Reports" correspondent Paul Vercammen checks in with a report card.

Q. How is the summer going?

Vercammen: So far, so good. The summer is up from last year; some say it's running about 7 percent better. And there have been some surprise hits. I don't think anybody anticipated that "Shrek" would break out and make $215 million to this point. You've got quite a lot of momentum, and there are good number of movies that are opening well. The Fast and the Furious" just had a great opening weekend, and even though "Tomb Raider" sunk (in its second weekend), it too opened huge. And though some people may criticize "Pearl Harbor," it's up there.

IN DEPTH Coming Attractions

Q. What happened with "Pearl Harbor"? That was supposed to be the dominant movie this summer.

Vercammen: "Pearl Harbor" has made $172 million. That isn't anything to sneeze at. It's just that it was so hyped, and so discussed, and so talked about ... I think people just assumed it would be another "Titanic."

The reviews were not good, by and large, and some of the word of mouth may have helped erode the audience, so it wasn't able to maintain huge numbers week after week.

But we should reemphasize: $172 million is still a pretty huge haul. (Also,) I think one of the reasons "Pearl Harbor" has been overshadowed so much is because "Shrek" has done so well.

Q. There don't seem to be lines around the block this year. Is it still possible in this day and age, when movies are put into 3,000-plus theaters, to get a "line around the block"?

Vercammen: I think the tradition of the lines around the block only occurs for a major, major blockbuster like the "Star Wars" films. Because now they do have enough theaters to handle (the crowds).

We've got a glut of movie theaters in America, by the way, which has caused a lot of bankruptcies (among theater chains).

For the rest of the summer, we might see some lines for "Planet of the Apes," "Jurassic Park 3," and after (the original) was such a sleeper hit, "American Pie 2."

Q. What about "A.I."?

Vercammen: I was talking to a Warner Brothers insider and he thinks it's going to open huge because the reviews have been positive, it's Spielberg, and they believe it's a solid film. They also think that it doesn't really have huge competition on its opening weekend, because the audience will probably drop off fairly quickly for "The Fast and the Furious" and some of the other movies out there. ... It's sort of a crossover film that could get older and younger audiences. There's nothing else of that stripe.

Q. What surprises could we see?

Vercammen: "Rush Hour 2," with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, is a sequel, and the first one did so well. (Chan and Tucker) proved to be quite a dynamic on-screen combination and there's some anticipation for that.

"Planet of the Apes" is a wild card. It could open huge, or suddenly drop off as well. I don't think anybody knows that much about it. It brings a lot of fun to the Hollywood guessing game here. Even the theater chains scratch their heads and say, "How much do I cover my bases? How many screens do I put this on? How many showings do I have a day?"

"Scary Movie 2" is another one of those summer sequels that could possibly be a huge smash. The first one certainly did well, and once you establish yourself in the marketplace, you start talking sequel -- as they are now with "The Fast and the Furious."

One other potential sleeper -- "Cats & Dogs." There has been positive banter floating through Hollywood about "Cats & Dogs," and there have been other movies that jump out in summer and suddenly stun the world, like "The Sixth Sense."

Q. Anything else?

Vercammen: If (movie grosses) keep up this pace, we could set a record again at the box office for this year -- and it won't be because there was one superstar film that racked up more than $500 million. It will be because a lot of different movies lured people into the theaters. Folks had their popcorn, decided they had a good time, and returned later for other films. There's a theory that moviegoing begets moviegoing, so once you see some trailers, you might be inspired to do it again.