Could a dropoff in movie-going be a postive economic indicator? Hollywood rode a wave of strong attendance figures t hrough the first quarter of this year , lending credence to the notion that when economic times get tough, Americans seek the comfort of a cineplex seat. But now, according to Pamela McClintock of Variety , there is a bit of a cooling off for the summer box office : When schedules revealed there was no tentpole for most of June, studios and theater owners quietly worried that traffic would take a dive. And they were right, sort of. There's been a dip in moviegoing in each of the past three weekends, but not enough to drag down the bottom line. Much of that is thanks to breakout hits "The Hangover" and "Up," as well as booming weekday biz. Summer revenues to date are running essentially even with last year, although attendance is running behind by 3%. The slight downturn is narrowing overall gains made this year in revenue and attendance, but those numbers routinely fluctuate. Nothing staggering here, and the year-to-date figures remain strong. And certainly there are many factors at play other than the audience's perception of the economy's recovery. But as McLintock writes: "The summer frame will be an important test of whether the B.O.'s growth spurt was a knee-jerk reaction to the gloomy economic news or a long-term trend."