2ND 'ANGELS' A NO-SALE AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Moviegoers suddenly aren't buying what Hollywood is selling at the multiplex.

The flat debut of ``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' coupled with a dramatic audience dropoff for ``The Hulk'' has placed pressure on the film industry to rebound strongly during the Fourth of July weekend.

Movie attendance for the top 12 films has lagged behind last year's figures for three weekends in a row now. Ticket sales dropped by 20.3 percent last weekend compared with a week earlier and were 14.2 percent lower than the same week a year before, according to final box office figures released Monday.

If the industry is to remain competitive with last year's record box office haul, the trio of ``Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,'' ``Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde'' and the animated ``Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'' must connect with audiences to end the dry spell.

``Last summer was the biggest Fourth of July ever with `Men in Black II' at number one,'' said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. ``But there is a chance this can be an even bigger Fourth of July than last year given strength of the titles.''

But other seemingly sure-fire hits have not ignited at the box office this summer. Sony Pictures Entertainment's ``Angels'' was expected to make around $45 million but came in considerably below expectations with a $37.6 million opening weekend. Still, that was more than enough to easily dislodge Universal Pictures' ``Hulk'' from the top spot as that film had a stunning 70 percent drop in business after enjoying the biggest June opening in history just a week earlier.

``You don't ever want to see this,'' said Nikki Rocco, president of distribution at Universal. ``But you move on.''

Despite being underperformers in blockbuster terms, at least both ``Angels'' and ``Hulk'' opened at No. 1. Many other films have fared far worse this summer:

--The 20th Century Fox release ``From Justin to Kelly'' plunged 78 percent last weekend after selling just $600,000 in tickets. The film featuring original ``American Idol'' champ Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini debuted outside the top 10 last weekend making just $2.9 million.

--New Line Cinema's ``Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd'' suffered an audience decline of 63 percent in its third weekend. The prequel to the Jim Carrey-Jeff Daniels hit comedy ``Dumb and Dumber'' featured two unknowns in the title roles and has earned $24.1 million to date.

--Sony's big-budget ``Hollywood Homicide'' starring Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett failed to attract much of an audience and will likely drop out of the top 10 after just three weeks. It has grossed just $27.3 million so far, dramatically less than what was expected.

--Two romantic comedies, Fox's ``Down With Love,'' starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, and Warner Bros.' ``Alex and Emma'' with Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson, were positioned as counterprogramming to ``The Matrix Reloaded'' and ``The Hulk,'' respectively. Both have bombed.

But there have been bright spots in recent weeks.

Disney's ``Finding Nemo'' and Universal's ``Bruce Almighty'' have performed strongly for more than a month. Not only did both films have record openings, but both continue to do strong business in their fifth and sixth weeks, respectively.

Also faring well has been Universal's ``2 Fast 2 Furious,'' which has earned a respectable $113.4 million during its monthlong run, and Paramount Picture's ``The Italian Job,'' which has become a solid word-of-mouth hit with a gross of $76.7 million to date.

And this past weekend, Fox Searchlight scored with its new sci-fi horror film ``28 Days Later,'' which earned $10 million to open in fourth place. The film is playing in virtually half the number of theaters as any other movie in the top 10.

``It blew through our expectations,'' said Steve Gilula, Searchlight's president of distribution. ``This is an extraordinary result for a movie that we promoted as a scary movie for thinking adults.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu cavort in ``Charlie 's Angels: Full Throttle,'' which has not been a box office blockbuster.