HOLLYWOOD - In a battle of the actioners, the high-octane Cradle 2 the Grave, the only major release of the weekend, crushed reigning king Daredevil with a one-two punch of $17.1 million*, knocking the comic-book blockbuster off its throne.The top box office winner for the last two weeks, Daredevil got pushed down to third place with only an $11 million take over the weekend, while the raucous comedy Old School, offering its own brand of flying testosterone, held its No. 2 spot for the second week with $13.9 million.
The romantic comedy How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days came in fourth with $10.1 million and Osca -nominee Chicago added a few more theaters to its belt, rounding out the top five with a respectable $8.1 million.
THE TOP TEN
Warner Bros. R-rated martial arts actioner Cradle 2 the Grave barreled into the weekend competition with an ESTIMATED $17.1 million in 2,625 theaters ($6,520 per theater).
The film follows a Taiwanese government agent and a master thief as they team up to hunt down some rare black diamonds before they land into the wrong hands.
Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, it stars DMX, Jet Li, Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson and Tom Arnold.
No strangers to impressive March openings, DMX and Li first starred together for director Bartkowiak in Romeo Must Die, which opened March 16, 2001, with a healthy $18.4 million, while Bartkowiak's Exit Wounds, also starring DMX and Steven Seagal, opened March 22, 2000, with $18 million.
DreamWorks' R-rated comedy Old School stayed at No. 2 for the second week with an ESTIMATED $13.9 million (-20%) in 2,742 theaters (+53 theaters; $5,069 per theater). The film, which revolves around three thirtysomething college buddies who decide to start their own off-campus fraternity, has made approximately $37.2 million so far.
Directed by Todd Phillips, it stars Luke Wilson, Will Farrell and Vince Vaughn.
Losing the dare, 20th Century Fox's PG-13 Daredevil, slipped to third place with an ESTIMATED $11 million (-39%) in 3,234 theaters (-240 theaters; $3,401 per theater). But don't feel too sorry for this superhero; his film is well on the way to hitting the $100 million mark, its cume approximately $84.1 million.
Directed by Mark Steven Johnson, the live-action comic book adaptation of a blind lawyer who moonlights as a superhero, stars Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan.
Keeping things sweet, Paramount Pictures' PG-13 How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days dropped a spot to No. 4 with an ESTIMATED $10.1 million (-13%) in 2,923 theaters ($3,467 per theater). Now in its fourth week, the romantic comedy about a journalist who has to do all the wrong things to lose a guy for a story has accumulated approximately $77.5 million.
Directed by Donald Petrie, it stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey.
Miramax's PG-13 jazzy musical Chicago held on to fifth place with an ESTIMATED $8.1 million (-1%) in 2,447 theaters (+92 theaters; $3,322 per theater). Expanding once again in its tenth week, the Oscar-nominated film has made approximately $105.1 million, making it the 24th film released in 2002 to hit the $100 million mark--and with director Rob Marshall's recent Directors Guild of America win, it's only going to get better.
Directed by Rob Marshall, it stars Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere.
Falling two notches to sixth was Buena Vista's G-rated The Jungle Book 2, offering parents the only true kiddie entertainment for the weekend. It took in an ESTIMATED $6.8 million (-22%) in 2,814 theaters (-1 theaters; $2,416 per theater). Its cume is approximately $33.6 million.
Directed by Steven Trenbirth, the continuing adventures of Mowgli the jungle boy features the voices of Haley Joel Osment, John Goodman, Bob Joles and Tony Jay.
*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.