‘Recruit’ tops its class in close call

A CIA spy thriller and a horror sequel came in 1-2 at the box office on an otherwise lackluster weekend, with “The Recruit” edging out “Final Destination 2” for the top spot by only $300,000 -- for studio estimates, almost too close to call.

“The Recruit,” which stars Colin Farrell and Al Pacino as a novice spy and his teacher, was rated PG-13 and played to a wide range of people, from 12- to 50-year-olds.

But it relied mainly on males and two demographics, 18- to 35-year-olds and older Pacino fans, for its $16.5-million gross, said Buena Vista Pictures head of distribution Chuck Viane.

“Final Destination 2,” which stars relative unknowns Ali Larter and A.J. Cook, grossed an estimated $16.2 million. But the film was rated R, which may have hurt its box office, presumably by limiting its under-18 crowd.

DreamWorks’ African American biker gang drama “Biker Boyz” came in third, grossing $10.1 million in 1,766 theaters. That film, which stars Laurence Fishburne, played mainly to an African American crowd.

Universal’s romantic-comedy-musical “The Guru” performed well in limited release, grossing an estimated $648,000 in only 62 theaters for a per-venue average of $10,450. The studio intends to roll out the film slowly, initially in upscale markets, hoping word of mouth will boost interest.

Nikki Rocco, Universal’s president of distribution, surmised that the country might be in the mood for light, upbeat fare.

“Everything is terrible in the real world and when you are confronted with war and things like the terrible tragedy [of the space shuttle Columbia], people want to be entertained.”

Among returning films, producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s heist movie “Kangaroo Jack” continued to do well, grossing an estimated $9 million for a total of $45 million since its release two weekends ago.

Sony’s low-budget thriller “Darkness Falls” rounded out the top 5 films, grossing an estimated $7.5 million in its second weekend, for a total of $22 million.

Two Oscar contenders came in next, with “Chicago” bringing in an estimated $7.1 million at 623 sites. It was hard to gauge how much “Chicago” figures were affected by its piggybacking in hundreds of theaters with “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” and “Gangs of New York,” neither of which made it into the top 10.

Still kicking up an average of $11,460 per theater, “Chicago,” the vampy musical, has taken in more than $50 million.

After 46 days in release, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” has surpassed the first “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” in domestic box-office earnings, raking in $315 million to date. “The Two Towers” grossed an estimated $5 million over the weekend, dropping only 24%.

The low-budget romantic comedy “Just Married” remains impressively durable in its appeal to teenage moviegoers. The film, which stars Brittany Murphy and Ashton Kutcher, grossed $4.9 million this weekend for a total of $49 million since its release in early January.

In the final spots in the top 10 were “Catch Me If You Can,” which grossed $4.8 million over the weekend for a total of $151.9 million and New Line Cinema’s “About Schmidt,” which came in at No. 10, grossing an estimated $4.7 million for a total of $44.3 million.

This weekend’s top 12 films grossed an estimated $94.7 million compared to a year ago’s $78.6 million, according to box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co.

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Weekend Box Office

Preliminary results are based on studio projections.

*--* Movie 3-day gross Total (millions) “The Recruit” $16.522 $16.522 “Final Destination 2” $16.2 $16.2 “Biker Boyz” $10.130 $10.130 “Kangaroo Jack” $9.035 $45.873 “Darkness Falls” $7.500 $22.284 “Chicago” $7.140 $50.719 “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” $5.0 $315.938 “Just Married” $4.9 $49.819 “Catch Me If You Can” $4.792 $151.875 “About Schmidt” $4.7 $44.378

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Source: Nielsen EDI