That Sinking Feeling

Twentieth Century Fox is reportedly spending a fortune on its big summer pic, “The Abyss”--and wants to distance itself fathoms from two other underwater adventures: Tri-Star’s recently released “Deepstar Six” and MGM’s “Leviathan,” which surfaces in March.

In fact, an “Abyss” teaser trailer was pulled from screens recently after only a two-week run--a Fox rep confirms that studio brass were worried audiences might confuse “Abyss” with the other films.

“But one of them is already out of the way,” said the Fox spokesman, referring to “Deepstar,” which went glub with only $7 million in ticket sales after three weekends.

Fox folks insist that “Abyss”--from the “Aliens” team of director James Cameron and producer Gale Anne Hurd--is not a “monster movie” like the competing films but a “totally wondrous encounter with the unknown.”