Blockbusters such as Avengers: The Age of Ultron and Fast & Furious 7 helped drive Cineworld revenues up by nearly a third since the start of the year.

The firm, which has more than 100 sites under the Cineworld and Picturehouse brands, said total group revenue jumped 26.8 per cent in the 19 weeks to May 14, driven by the mix of films on release.

On a pro forma basis, sales lifted by 10.7 per cent.

It added that retail spend per person and advertising revenues also rose, while group box office admissions grew nine per cent in the period.

As well as the strong line-up of releases, Cineworld has also been boosted by recent acquisitions.

In March, the group saw its annual profits beat expectations, jumping 73 per cent to £75 million, aided by last year's acquisition of Israeli-founded rival Cinema City.

The tie-up last February created a group that operates 1,880 screens across 205 sites, including in Israel and a number of countries in central Europe.

Cineworld said the film release programme for the rest of the first half of the year is promising, and includes San Andreas, Jurassic World and Minions.

The second half of this year will see the release of blockbusters such as the next Bond film Spectre, Star Wars: Episode VII and the final Hunger Games title Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.

Cineworld said it was confident of meeting its full-year expectations.

The entertainment group said UK and Ireland total sales rose 8.8 per cent in the period, while admissions climbed 7.9 per cent.

It added that box office admissions rose in all of its territories apart from Slovakia, which suffered a slight decline.

The group opened two Cineworld complexes in Swindon and Broughton since the start of 2015, with 17 screens between them.

It also opened one Picturehouse in East Dulwich, which has three screens.

N+1 Singer analyst Sahill Shan said the trading up date was "robust", adding that was "strong growth across UK and international".

The broker forecast the group will boost annual adjusted pre-tax profits by 23 per cent to £92 million.