'SITH' SET TO LORD OVER BOX OFFICE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Megaplexes across the nation scrambled Thursday to add extra midnight showings to accommodate unprecedented lines of waiting fans who stayed up to be among the first to see ``Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.''

The momentum carried through for Thursday matinees and expectations

were high that ``Sith'' could set records for the largest opening-day gross and biggest single-day gross.

Preliminary estimates for box office grosses from the midnight shows alone were in the range of $16 million to $17 million, according to distributor 20th Century Fox, which will release complete first-day numbers today.

``It's actually hard to believe,'' said Bruce Snyder, Fox's president of distribution. ``Some theaters started with five or six screens and ended up showing it on 15 or 18 screens at midnight because they had that freedom with no other movies playing at that hour. They kept selling tickets and adding more screens.''

Midnight showings in such major markets as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington, Seattle, San Francisco and Boston were sellouts and Thursday matinees were also packed with throngs of fans playing hooky from work.

Advance ticket sales were historic. Online ticket seller Fandango reported selling six tickets per second Thursday while rival Movietickets.com sold five per second. Both companies set pre-sale records.

With 9,400 prints in circulation and the movie playing in nearly 3,700 theaters in the United States, ``Sith'' could shatter box office records. The records for the largest opening-day gross and biggest single-day gross are held, respectively, by ``Spider-Man 2'' ($40.4 million) and ``Shrek 2'' ($44.8 million).

``It definitely can break those records and everything else,'' said box office analyst Robert Bucksbaum, president of Reel Source Inc. ``It might have broken records anyway even if it wasn't a good movie, but word has gotten out that it's good so that's going to make it even bigger.''

At 4 a.m. Thursday, more than 100 exhausted, emotional and exhilarated fans took over most of the IHOP Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, still buzzing about ``Sith.''

Having attended the 12:01 a.m. screening of the film at the ArcLight complex's Cinerama Dome just up the street, many were still trying to process what had just transpired as they ordered breakfast.

``So much action, so much story,'' said a red-eyed Garr Van Orden, 21. ``We're going to sleep awhile, then watch it again. It was my favorite movie of all time. I just loved the whole thing. It rocked!''

All six of the ArcLight's midnight shows sold out, as well as 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. showings, making for 10 sellouts in all before dawn. The Grove, located just a few miles away, sold out six midnight shows, according to the Pacific Theatres chain.

``There was a lot more emotion in this movie and that is something I've been looking for in these prequels,'' said Peter Genovese, 29, who was among those at the ArcLight. ``It's the emotions of Anakin turning evil - it was just powerful.''

Genovese was one of the organizers of a line outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre that began six weeks ago and got nationwide attention. The group, comprising 170 people, raised just over $30,000 for the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation by gathering sponsors who pledged money for every hour people spent in line.

``This is the end of 'Star Wars' and our line experience,'' Genovese said. ``We're going to miss it. I don't think we'll ever do anything as grand as this.''

Camping out in front of Grauman's - the site of the premiere of the first ``Star Wars'' movie in 1977 - had been a tradition for these fans, many of whom did the same for ``Episode I - The Phantom Menace'' in 1999 and ``Episode II - Attack of the Clones'' three years ago.

Since Grauman's was not showing the film, they were escorted to the ArcLight Wednesday evening by Darth Vader and a group of stormtroopers, courtesy of director George Lucas' company Lucasfilm.

David King, a 26-year-old film executive from London, wasn't part of the camping-out but flew in for the occasion in order to watch the movie with these die-hard fans, many of whom planned to gather again Thursday night and watch the film a second time in Westwood.

``I was totally relieved that the film was as good as it was and I'll be seeing it again tonight,'' King said. ``I think it was a good payoff. Unwittingly, (George Lucas) lowered everyone's expectations for this one. It tied everything together really well.''

King's friend, Clare Whipps, jetted in from the Cannes Film Festival to see the movie with the crowd at the ArcLight. She had attended the ``Sith'' premiere at the festival, but said it didn't compare to watching it with die-hard fans.

``I just arrived (Wednesday) and am absolutely knackered, but the film has almost become secondary to the fun with everyone getting so excited about something so silly,'' said Whipps, a sales manager for a film trade publication in London. ``I really liked this one and thank God. It closed nicely. After (`Phantom Menace'), we walked out saying, 'Who the bloody hell is Jar Jar Binks?'''

Burbank resident Ed Hooper took the day off from his job as a senior project analyst for Princess Cruises in order to attend the 12:01 a.m. showing at the Cinerama Dome.

``I'm putting responsibility aside to do something for me,'' said Hooper, 39. ``I think too many people are losing themselves in their jobs and in other ways and they need to sit back and watch something, be entertained.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com