Can summer heat up sping's box-office chill?

If the last movie you saw at the multiplex was Meet the Fockers, you're not alone. For eight weeks, theater attendance has been down, compared to a year ago. True, last spring's box office was goosed by the anomalous smash The Passion of the Christ, which sold some 58 million tickets — a near-impossible act to follow (2005's top-grosser, Hitch, has sold 27 million tix). ''Maybe audiences are waiting for the big summer movies,'' says Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations. While ever-increasing DVD revenues fill studio coffers, theater owners can only hope the trend will be reversed by the summer slate — which accounts for 40 percent of annual theatrical earnings. ''Once Star Wars opens [big, on May 19],'' Dergarabedian adds, ''this spring slump stuff will be a distant memory.'' From his lips to Darth's ears.