CAN 'BEWITCHED' BREAK HOLLYWOOD'S LOSING SPELL? BOX OFFICE SLUMP NEARS RECORD RUN.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Darth Vader couldn't do it. Brad and Angelina couldn't do it. Even Batman couldn't do it.

It will be up to teen queen Lindsay Lohan and a Volkswagen named Herbie, the magic nose-twitch of Nicole Kidman in ``Bewitched'' and the horror film ``Land of the Dead'' to end Hollywood's current box office slump - which could reach an unprecedented 18 weeks on Sunday.

If the new movies, plus holdovers ``Batman Begins'' and ``Mr. and Mrs. Smith'' don't come through in a big way, the movie industry will record its longest streak ever where year-over-year ticket sales come up short.

``At this point, it seems like 'Bewitched' has the best chance.'' predicted Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo. ``But it seems to be another soft weekend until the (June 29) release of 'War of the Worlds.'''

The weekend's movies will have to best a line-up from a year ago when the top 12 films, led by ``Fahrenheit 9/11,'' ``White Chicks,'' ``Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,'' ``The Notebook'' and ``The Terminal'' combined to earn $138.5 million.

Last weekend's box office totals came within 0.52 percent of matching the 2004 weekend totals with ``Batman Begins'' dominating ticket sales during its opening weekend. The Warner Bros. release had earned $90.4 million domestically as of Wednesday.

The highly publicized Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie film ``Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' has performed strongly in its first two weeks with a $106 million haul, while ``Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'' has earned a whopping $351.4 million so far this summer.

But these and other summer bright spots such as ``Madagascar'' ($151.3 million) and ``The Longest Yard'' ($135.4 million) have not been able to manage the firepower of the 2004 summer slate.

Sony Pictures Entertainment's ``Bewitched'' pays homage to the classic 1960s-70s television sitcom and will bow in 3,174 locations. Rory Bruer, Sony's president of domestic distribution, is optimistic the film will have a strong showing.

``I think it's just a really, really fun film,'' Bruer said. ``I think you get to see a different facet of Nicole Kidman, see her in a way you haven't seen her before. Will Ferrell is always so funny and they have great chemistry.''

Universal Pictures will be looking to rebound from the disappointing performance of its drama ``Cinderella Man'' earlier this month with ``Land of the Dead,'' a thriller from director George A. Romero whose credits include such horror classics as ``Night of the Living Dead'' and the original ``Dawn of the Dead.''

Disney's ``Herbie: Fully Reloaded'' featuring Lohan was first out of the starting gate, opening on Wednesday. Playing in 3,301 locations, ``Herbie'' took in $2.7 million in ticket sales on its first day.

``A movie like 'Herbie' can be one of these films that sticks around all summer,'' said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's Buena Vista Distribution. ``By Wednesday, 80 percent of the kids (were) out of school and 90 percent will be out by Monday.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Lindsay Lohan and Herbie, Disney's cinematic Volkswagen, will see if they kick the summer movie season into high gear.

(2 -- color) Studio executives are hoping Nicole Kidman has some movie magic tricks hidden in ``Bewitched.''

(3 -- color) Or maybe Dennis Hopper can scare up some moviegoers this weekend with ``Land of the Dead.''