U.S. Box Office Hits Longest Modern Slump

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ ``Batman Begins'' took in $26.8 million to remain the top movie for the second straight weekend, but it could not keep Hollywood from sinking to its longest modern box-office

Monday, June 20th 2005, 10:08 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ ``Batman Begins'' took in $26.8 million to remain the top movie for the second straight weekend, but it could not keep Hollywood from sinking to its longest modern box-office slump.

Overall business tumbled despite a rush of familiar new titles _ ``Bewitched,'' a ``Love Bug'' update and the latest zombie tale from director George Romero.

Revenues for the top 12 movies came in at $116.5 million, down 16 percent from the same weekend last year, when ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' opened as the top movie with $23.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It was the 18th weekend in a row the box office declined, passing a 1985 slump of 17 weekends that had been the longest since analysts began keeping detailed figures on movie grosses.

``Batman'' lifted its 12-day total to $121.7 million.

Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell's sit-com update ``Bewitched'' debuted in second place with $20.2 million.

Audiences were lukewarm toward the weekend's other major premieres. ``Herbie: Fully Loaded,'' with Lindsay Lohan behind the wheel of the speedy VW ``Love Bug,'' was No. 4 with $12.75 million, raising its total since debuting Wednesday to $17.8 million.

``George Romero's Land of the Dead,'' the fourth installment of the flesh-munching zombie saga from the director of ``Night of the Living Dead,'' debuted at No. 5 with $10.2 million.

In narrower release, the documentary ``Rize,'' about the south-central Los Angeles dance form known as krumping, opened at No. 12 with $1.6 million.

In limited release, the nature documentary ``March of the Penguins'' had a strong debut of $121,788 in four theaters. ``Yes,'' starring Joan Allen, Simon Abkarian and Sam Neill in a drama about an affair between an Irish-American married woman and a Lebanese man, opened with $29,437 in seven cinemas.

Theater revenues have skidded about 7 percent compared to last year. Factoring in higher ticket prices, movie admissions are off 10 percent for the year, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

If the slump continues, Hollywood is on course for a third straight year of declining admissions and its lowest ticket sales since the mid-1990s.

``We're working with a pretty huge deficit that would take a lot of business to overcome,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. ``Just breaking the slump is not enough. We would have to reverse the trend and see attendance on a big uptick.''

Even with a big Fourth of July weekend expected from Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise's ``War of the Worlds,'' which opens Wednesday, Hollywood still may not snap its losing streak. Over the same weekend last year, ``Spider-Man 2'' pulled in $180 million in its first six days, leading the industry to a record Fourth of July.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. ``Batman Begins,'' $26.8 million.

2. ``Bewitched,'' $20.2 million.

3. ``Mr. and Mrs. Smith,'' $16.75 million.

4. ``Herbie: Fully Loaded,'' $12.75 million.

5. ``George Romero's Land of the Dead,'' $10.2 million.

6. ``Madagascar,'' $7.3 million.

7. ``Star Wars: Episode III _ Revenge of the Sith,'' $6.25 million.

8. ``The Longest Yard,'' $5.5 million.

9. ``The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D,'' $3.4 million.

10. ``Cinderella Man,'' $3.3 million.