In the wake of "Spider-Man", online ticket sales are poised to prove the might of the clones:

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - With "Spider-Man" already a box office phenomenon, online movie ticketing services are gearing up for the next blockbuster: both AOL Moviefone and Fandango have already begun selling tickets to "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," two weeks before it bows May 16.

One reason is that online sales for tickets to "Spider-Man" beat expectations across the board, providing the first major sign that the Internet actually helps fill movie theater seats.

Fandango, for example, generated $3 million in ticket sales to the comicbook actioner, or 2.6% of the picture's weekend box office. On Thursday, the company sold one ticket per second for the picture. Fandango began selling "Spider-Man" tickets three weeks before its bow. Moviefone and Movietickets.com declined to provide "Spider-Man" sales figures.

"'Spider-Man' sales climbed daily for nearly three weeks, topping our 2002 numbers and propelling record-breaking sales for one day," said Art Levitt, president and CEO of Fandango.

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