Anyone who thinks that a sequel heavy 2002 will pave the way for a year full of original film-making in 2003 is very much mistaken. The likelihood is that 2003 will see more of the same - plus a deluge of comic-book adaptations.

Buoyed by the stellar performance of Spider-Man and Asterix And Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, producers around the world are preparing to launch a raft of comic-book adaptations.

Marvel Entertainment will be busy as it launches Daredevil (from February), X-Men 2 (May) and The Hulk (June) into multiplexes worldwide. Another US production, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen adds to the fray. French company La Petite Reine also plans to launch The Adventures Of Mike S. Blueberry (a western set during the American War of Independence based on a cult comic book and starring Vincent Cassel, Michael Madsen and Juliette Lewis) in the third quarter of the year.

The sequels will not be letting up either with franchise additions including third instalments of the lucrative American Pie (American Wedding), Taxi, Spy Kids and Terminator series. Belated sequels are launched to Dirty Dancing and Bad Boys, while Dumb And Dumber and The Exorcist series both receive prequels.

Even Disney is going down sequel route with Piglet's Big Movie (following the $75m outing of 2000's The Tigger Movie) and The Jungle Book 2. Franchises are even joining forces as 2003 heralds the long-feted Freddy Vs Jason (a meeting of the Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday The 13th horror series) and Nickelodeon's Rugrats Meet The Wild Thornberrys.

However the heavy hitters - and those expected to lead the 2003 worldwide highest earner's list - are third and final Lord Of The Rings title, The Return Of The King, and Warner Bros' Matrix double hitters Matrix: Reloaded and Matrix: Revolutions. The sequels are launched in May and November respectively.

Outside the franchise market eyes will be on a variety of international productions. Autumn in Japan heralds Steamboy, the first film to be directed by Katsuhiro Otomo since 1988's cult Anime hit Akira. The film has spent eight years in production and has a $20m budget, the highest ever for Japanese animation.

In South Korea the consistently strong local market (local productions took a 45%-46% market share in 2002) will see a host of releases throughout the year, including Egg Films' Classic in February. Classic is the latest from director Kwak Jae-yong whose My Sassy Girl (for which remake rights were bought by DreamWorks in 2002) is the fifth highest grossing film of all time in the territory.

A couple of high profile European directors are to make their English-language debuts with Francois Ozon's Swimming Pool (starring Charlotte Rampling and Ozon regular Ludivine Sagnier) and Thomas Vinterberg's self-described anti-Dogme film It's All About Love (featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Claire Danes).

English language films expected to do strong business worldwide include Jerry Bruckheimer's Pirates Of The Caribbean (starring Johnny Depp) and Pixar's latest computer animated film, Finding Nemo. Universal/Imagine Entertainment The Cat In The Hat should provide a Thanksgiving hit in the US but may struggle internationally like 2000 Dr Seuss adaptation The Grinch (which took $260m in North America but $80m internationally).

Director Tom Shadyac and actor Jim Carrey will be hoping that they can repeat their Ace Ventura ($107m worldwide)/Liar, Liar ($306m) magic, although Shadyac suffered a set back after Patch Adams ($202m) with 2002 drama Dragonfly ($52m).

Quentin Tarantino's latest Kill Bill, Lawrence Kasdan's Dreamcatcher (based on Stephen King's novel) and Ron Howard's The Alamo are also expected to draw audiences.

Whether 2003 can match 2002 for total worldwide grosses is harder to forecast. Less assured franchise powerhouses (The Matrix, The Terminator, Charlie's Angels, etc) have not previously measured up to Harry Potter and Star Wars levels of popularity. However who knows what unexplored title could be this year's Spider-Man, My Big Fat Greek Wedding or Spirited Away.