'SITH' IS SUMMER BOX-OFFICE STAR FILM MAKES FOX INDUSTRY LEADER.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

The success of ``Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'' propelled 20th Century Fox to the best box-office performance among the major studios this summer.

Fox reached the $1 billion mark in domestic grosses in the second-fastest time in history and was further boosted by the success of ``Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' and ``Fantastic Four.'' But the studio stumbled a few times with the bombs ``Kingdom of Heaven,'' ``Rebound'' and ``Supercross.''

Warner Bros. was in a solid second place with a steady stream of hits including ``Batman Begins'' and ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,'' and had a first-place opening with ``The Dukes of Hazzard'' earlier this month.

While Fox and Warner Bros. have consistently been major forces in past summer sweepstakes, a resurgent Paramount Pictures staged an impressive comeback after several dismal years. The studio had three films open at No. 1: ``War of the Worlds,'' ``The Longest Yard'' and ``Four Brothers,'' but also released the clunkers ``The Honeymooners'' and ``The Bad News Bears.''

New Line Cinema put out a pair of comedies that outperformed everyone's expectations: the smash ``Wedding Crashers'' and the solid hit ``Monster-in-Law.'' But the summer was mixed for DreamWorks Pictures, which saw the strong performance of its animated smash ``Madagascar'' overshadowed by the dead-on-arrival performance of ``The Island.''

For such former summer champs as Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios, it was wait until next year.

Universal is enjoying a hit with the R-rated ``The 40 Year-Old Virgin'' currently at No. 1 and ``The Skeleton Key'' in the top five. But the studio was disappointed that the critically acclaimed ``Cinderella Man'' and the Will Ferrell comedy ``Kicking & Screaming'' weren't bigger hits. Universal also flopped with ``The Perfect Man'' and ``Land of the Dead.''

Sony opened the summer with the bomb ``XXX: State of the Union'' and saw ``Stealth'' crash hard. In addition, ``Bewitched'' lacked major box office magic and neither ``Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo'' nor ``Lords of Dogtown'' attracted much of a crowd.

Disney also lacked a breakout hit with ``Herbie: Fully Loaded'' and ``Sky High'' being mid-level performers at best. The thriller ``Dark Water'' flopped and the animated ``Valiant'' had a weak $5.9 million opening last weekend.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com