THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE 'REVENGE OF THE SITH' EXPECTED TO FIRE UP SUMMER BOX OFFICE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

From Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to Manhattan's Ziegfeld Theater, fans have been lining up for weeks to be among the first to see ``Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.''

Hit-starved Hollywood is sure to be very thankful for the Force.

After suffering through 12 consecutive weeks of dismal box office returns, the movie industry is counting on ``Sith'' to finally bring the masses back to the multiplexes.

``If anything can stop that kind of weak box office, it's 'Star Wars,''' said Bruce Snyder, president of 20th Century Fox, the studio releasing ``Sith'' into 3,700 theaters at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

The third part of George Lucas' prequel trilogy, which shows hero Anakin Skywalker become evil Darth Vader, will be on as many as five screens in a single multiplex with staggered starting times.

``People will be able to get in opening weekend,'' said Snyder. ``It is everywhere.''

And just in time. There have been very few major box office hits released in 2005, with only ``Hitch,'' ``The Pacifier'' and ``Robots'' grossing more than $100 million domestically. Overall, receipts lag 8 percent behind last year.

Box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian said the expected surge in business from ``Sith'' should also benefit other movies at the multiplex, none of which has enjoyed blockbuster numbers since the official start of the summer season two weeks ago.

``Moviegoing begets moviegoing,'' said Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. ``It helps the other movies that are upcoming to have a big movie in the marketplace. If people aren't in theaters and not exposed to trailers and marketing materials, it hurts future potential business.''

With combined worldwide grosses of $3.4 billion for the first five ``Star Wars'' movies, ``Sith'' would appear to be a guaranteed summer blockbuster. The only question is, How big?

The preliminary signs so far are looking good. Online ticket sales are through the roof, many midnight shows are sold out, and most movie critics consider ``Sith'' to be the best ``Star Wars'' of the current trilogy, which began with 1999's ``Episode I - The Phantom Menace'' and continued with ``Episode II - Attack of the Clones.''

Online ticket seller Fandango reported Tuesday that it was selling two tickets per second and expected that number to quadruple by the end of the week. It is selling three times as many advance tickets as it did for ``Clones'' three years ago at the same point in the sales cycle.

``At the end of the day, it's about assuring you get the ticket when you want it,'' said Fandango President and CEO Art Levitt.

Levitt said ``Sith'' has already sold 60 percent more advance tickets than previous record-holder ``The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.''

``It's the last one and is becoming a cultural event,'' Levitt said. ``People are swept up in the mania of it. It's not just the die-hard 'Star Wars' fans.''

Fans have already sold out many of the midnight showings in such major markets as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Boston. As of Sunday, AMC had midnight sellouts at 75 percent of its theaters, Century at 85 percent, Regal at 83 percent, and Loews at 77 percent, according to Snyder.

``They keep selling out the midnight shows and adding later shows. This is larger than anything we have ever handled.''

In the Greater Los Angeles area, multiplexes showing ``Sith'' continuously for 24 hours after the initial midnight screenings include Pacific Theatre's The Arclight in Hollywood, AMC's Burbank 16 and 30 and Long Beach Stadium 26.

Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo, said ``Sith'' will have several records in its sights starting with trying to beat the record $39.4 million earned by ``Spider-Man'' in 2002 on its first day in theaters.

``I think an opening day (record) is a possibility,'' Gray said. ``There's a chance there because 'Attack of the Clones' opened at $30 million on a Thursday.''

Far harder to beat, but still within the realm of possibility, would be the record Friday-Sunday record of $114.8 million set by ``Spider-Man.''

``(`Sith') is in the unique situation of being the first real-event picture of the year,'' Gray said. ```Attack of the Clones' was in the shadow of 'Spider-Man.' There's an outside chance but I think enough business will be burned off by Thursday to keep it from that record.''

``Sith'' will also be competing with all of the previous ``Star Wars'' installments for its place in the box office record books. The first movie, 1977's ``Star Wars,'' is still the all-time leader of the franchise with a domestic gross of $460.9 million.

``Clones'' was considered something of a box office disappointment domestically with a total of $310.7 million in ticket sales during the summer of 2002. That paled in comparison with the $431.7 million earned by ``Phantom'' in 1999.

``My sense is it has a chance of topping 'Attack of the Clones' but I doubt it will beat 'The Phantom Menace' because it's tough to beat 16 years of pent-up demand and a fresh start,'' Gray said. ```Revenge of the Sith' has a lot of baggage including two previous episodes not being well-received in terms of quality.''

Regardless of how much the film's domestic grosses ultimately add up to, opening weekend will do gangbusters, something workplace supervisors should be aware of in coming days, according to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

In a study released this week, the firm estimated that just over half of those attending a showing of ``Sith'' during opening weekend are full-time workers, which could cost employers as much as $627 million in lost productivity Thursday and Friday.

``Already we are looking at huge opening weekend audiences who have long anticipated the grand finale of this 28-year journey,'' said CEO John Challenger. ``However, the early positive reviews are likely to reignite interest among some fans who were disappointed in the first two chapters of the trilogy.''

The firm's researchers calculated the productivity losses using attendance figures from the first two days of ``Clones,'' which drew 9.4 million people and had two-day ticket sales of $54.5 million.

Said Challenger: ``Absenteeism may even start on Wednesday for those who want to see the first screening at midnight.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (Darth Vader)

(2) no caption (Ewan McGregor)

Box:

A BOX OFFICE FORCE

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.

Gregg Miller/Staff Artist