It will be difficult for Hollywood to say goodbye to 2012, which was a record-breaking year at the box office.

Hollywood.com projects that 10.8 billion dollars in ticket sales will have been raised by the end of the year, an increase of six percent from 2011's total of 10.215 billion. This year's sum would also surpass the current record amount: 10.6 billion, set in 2009.

Attendance at movie theaters is up six percent from last year, too, with 1.36 billion tickets sold.

One of the reasons why 2012 was so successful for studios: superhero films. Marvel's The Avengers was the highest-grossing movie of the year, earning 623.3 million dollars at the domestic box office, followed by The Dark Knight Rises, which raked in 448.1 million dollars.

There was also the launch of a new franchise, The Hunger Games, the end of another, Twilight, and the return of James Bond, with Skyfall.

The Christmas Day movies are doing their part, too. Les Miserables collected 18.2 million dollars on Tuesday, the most successful opening day ever for a musical and for a weekday Christmas release, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Django Unchained scored 15 million, the most all-time for a Christmas debut by an R-rated movie.

Analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com says 2013 could shape up to be an even bigger year, due to the scheduled release of a new Superman film, Man of Steel, plus sequels in The Hunger Games, Iron Man, Thor and The Hobbit series. He says, "I think next year could be the first time that we hit 11 billion dollars at the box office. I think next year, at least on paper, looks so huge."