The movie industry is desperately worried about the 18-week slump in overall box-office performance. According to the Associated Press:

“Batman Begins” took in $26.8 million to remain the top movie for the second straight weekend, but it could not keep Hollywood from sinking to its longest modern box-office slump.

Overall business tumbled despite a rush of familiar new titles “Bewitched,” a “Love Bug” update and the latest zombie tale from director George Romero.

Revenues for the top 12 movies came in at $116.5 million, down 16 percent from the same weekend last year, when “Fahrenheit 9/11″ opened as the top movie with $23.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

What theory can we come up with that would explain the fall-off in movie revenues? It probably helps to consider what last weekend’s top ten moneymakers were:

1. “Batman Begins,” $26.8 million.

2. “Bewitched,” $20.2 million.

3. “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” $16.75 million.

4. “Herbie: Fully Loaded,” $12.75 million.

5. “George Romero’s Land of the Dead,” $10.2 million.

6. “Madagascar,” $7.3 million.

7. “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith,” $6.25 million.

8. “The Longest Yard,” $5.5 million.

9. “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D,” $3.4 million.

10. “Cinderella Man,” $3.3 million.

Of these top ten movies, six are either franchise films or remakes. (”Mr. and Mrs. Smith” doesn’t count as a remake despite its having the same title as a 1941 Hitchcock movie.) What’s more, only two of the films — “Batman Begins” and “Revenge of the Sith” — arguably require a big screen to be enjoyed fully. Is it any wonder that so much of the movie-loving audience might decide it’s a better entertainment option to stay home? Me, I caught “Bewitched” over the weekend (not Nora Ephron’s best, but I was a fan of the show as a kid). But the best movie experience I had over the last few days was an HBO re-showing of Martin Scorsese’s brilliant 1990 film, “Goodfellas.” I’d seen it when it came out, but even a re-viewing was more fun than just about all the first-run movies I’ve seen this year.

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