BOX OFFICE STATS SUFFER NO BLOCKBUSTERS MAKE DREARY SPRING.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Moviegoers are lacking passion these days - or at least a ``The Passion of the Christ''-level hit to flock to - resulting in a box office slump now in its eighth consecutive week.

As of Sunday, domestic box office revenue had fallen behind 2004 numbers by more than 4 percent. Even more troubling, actual attendance figures are down by 7 percent, according to the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co.

The downturn began in large part because this year's numbers must be compared with those of ``Passion,'' an unexpected February blockbuster last year that grossed more than $370 million domestically.

``As of mid-February, we were 10 percent ahead of 2004,'' said Exhibitor Relations Co. President Paul Dergarabedian. ``But we can't blame everything on 'Passion' eight weeks out. Moviegoers have definitely lost interest a little bit and the marketplace as a whole has been in a depression.''

The year's biggest hit so far is the Will Smith romantic comedy ``Hitch.'' It has earned an astounding $175.4 million since its February release and was still in the top 12 as of last weekend.

The only other 2005 releases to have crossed the $100 million mark domestically are the animated movie ``Robots'' ($115.8 million) and the Vin Diesel family comedy ``The Pacifier'' ($103.7 million). The comedy ``Are We There Yet?'' was also a solid hit, taking in $81.4 million.

Moviegoers have given a lukewarm reception to the sequels ``Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'' ($41.7 million), ``The Ring Two'' ($74.4 million), ``Son of the Mask'' ($16.9 million), and the ``Get Shorty'' follow-up ``Be Cool'' ($55.6 million), none of which comes close to matching the gross of is predecessors.

In recent weeks, the romantic comedy ``Fever Pitch'' starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon has underperformed ($23.7 million) and ``Beauty Shop'' ($31.2 million) has failed to reach the level of box office success of the ``Barbershop'' movies from which it was spun off.

``In general, this has been the weakest April in a few years,'' said Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo. ``Last April, you had 'Kill Bill Vol. 2,' 'Hellboy' and 'Mean Girls.' It was a much stronger slate.''

The major studios have a trio of films bowing Friday but none is expected to be a major blockbuster: the Ashton Kutcher romantic comedy ``A Lot Like Love''; the suspense-drama ``The Interpreter'' starring Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn; and the comedy ``King's Ransom.''

Despite scathing reviews, the fright flick ``The Amityville Horror'' was last weekend's No. 1 movie with an opening gross of $23.3 million. The action-adventure ``Sahara'' has posted respectable numbers, dropping only 27 percent in its second weekend for a cumulative gross of $36.4 million.

But both films will likely be stopped cold in the coming weeks as the studios begin rolling out their ambitious summer slates. The summer season lasts the 16 weeks between the first weekend in May and Labor Day weekend and accounts for roughly 40 percent of box office revenue for the year.

``I think summer is going to have to save us,'' Dergarabedian said. ``It's better to have a slump now than in the summer.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com