`CLOSE ENCOUNTERS' WILL LAND IN THEATERS AGAIN.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

Sony Pictures, encouraged by the success of the revamped ``Star Wars,'' is planning a major rerelease this fall of Steven Spielberg's 1977 hit ``Close Encounters of the Third Kind.''

Sony's Columbia Pictures arm has been awaiting final approval from Spielberg before pushing ahead with the rerelease, tentatively titled ``the Ultimate Edition.'' But unlike most rereleased films that play in a limited number of theaters in major markets for a few weeks, ``Close Encounters'' will probably be given a nationwide rollout and publicity campaign in September.

``Close Encounters,'' starring Richard Dreyfus, Melinda Dillon and Francois Truffaut, took in $114 million domestically in 1977 and tacked on $13 million three years later when Columbia released a revised version with a new ending inside the alien spaceship.

Michael Schlesinger, Columbia Pictures director of repertory sales, said the decision about which version to release will be left up to Spielberg, who is currently finishing up work on ``The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' for Universal. He also said that the idea of rereleasing ``Close Encounters'' has been in the works for the past three years.

``It's not as if we woke up on the Monday morning after the first weekend of `Star Wars,' and decided to rerelease `Close Encounters,' '' he said.

20th Century Fox grossed nearly $71 million in the first 10 days from the revamped blockbuster and it is expected to take in as much as $50 million more. It will break the $399.8 million domestic record set by ``E.T. The Extraterrestrial'' this weekend.

Additionally, ``The Empire Strikes Back'' and ``Return of the Jedi'' should both take in at least $25 million each in their opening weekends, set for Feb. 21 and March 7, respectively.

``It's immensely gratifying to see the kind of reaction that there has been to `Star Wars,' '' Schlesinger said. ``It has certainly raised the bar for other rereleases.''

Schlesinger warned that ``Close Encounters'' will not duplicate the sort of reaction generated by ``Star Wars,'' but noted that it was a major hit on its own and Columbia's largest domestic grosser ever at the time.

Disney has also been successful at rereleasing its animated movies periodically, such as ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,'' ``Fantasia'' and ``101 Dalmatians,'' but the market for live-action films is usually limited to the art-house circuit in big cities.

Paramount is planning a limited rerelease of its 1972 hit ``The Godfather'' in 20 markets on March 21. The studio previously announced a rerelease of ``Grease'' for that movie's 20th anniversary.

And Columbia will rerelease a longer version of the German movie ``Das Boot'' on April 4.

There even are plans to rerelease the futuristic classic, ``A Clockwork Orange.''

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Photo: Sony Pictures hopes to rerelease ``Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' in September.