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'Cradle 2 the Grave' tops box office
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- "Cradle 2 the Grave," a martial arts action film with an urban attitude, kick-boxed its way through the North American box office over the weekend, knocking rivals like comic book thriller, "Daredevil," down from No. 1 to No. 3, according to studio estimates. "Cradle 2 the Grave," which mixes the U.S. hip-hop culture with Hong Kong-style martial arts, fusing the work of rapper turned actor DMX with Hong Kong action star Jet Li, debuted at No. 1, grossing $17.1 million, according to industry box office service Exhibitor Relations. Locked in the No. 2 position for the second week in a row, was the bawdy buddy DreamWorks comedy "Old School," with $13.9 million, while "Daredevil," a Marvel Comics adaptation starring Ben Affleck fell from No. 1 to No. 3, grossing $11 million. The Friday-through-Sunday ticket sales figure for "Daredevil" represented a 39 percent drop from the previous weekend's gross for the film, released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp's Fox Entertainment Group Inc.. To date, "Daredevil" has grossed an estimated $84.1 million. "Cradle," released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., was the only new nationwide release by Hollywood's major studios over the weekend, as the industry gears up for the Academy Awards on March 23. First-time director Rob Marshall won the Directors Guild of America award on Saturday for his musical "Chicago," making him the favorite in the battle for Oscar gold later this month. The Directors Guild of America (DGA), which represents film and TV directors and their associates, is usually a key barometer leading up to the Oscars. "Chicago" leading the Oscar pack"Chicago" -- a satirical musical, released by Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax films, about murderous showgirls seeking success -- is already leading the pack with 13 nominations. Oscar ballots were mailed out last Tuesday, so movie fans -- especially those in Los Angeles and New York where the majority of voters members are found -- are already seeing more ads for Oscar movies like "Chicago" and "The Hours" as the race intensifies. "Chicago," starring Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere, remained at No. 5, grossing $8.1 million over the weekend and a cumulative $105.2 million. Last week's No. 3 film, "How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days," dropped to No. 4 with $10.1 million for the weekend. The romantic comedy, starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey and released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc., has grossed an estimated $77.5 million to date. "The Jungle Book 2," Disney's low-budget sequel to the 1967 cartoon, fell from No. 4 to No. 6, grossing $6.8 million, down 22 percent from a week earlier. So far, the animated adventure featuring Haley Joel Osment as the voice of the wolf-reared youngster Mowgli and John Goodman as his bear pal Baloo, has tallied $33.6 million in ticket sales. Holding steady at No. 7 was another Disney film, "Shanghai Knights," a period comedy starring Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, grossing $4.8 million, bringing its total to $50.7 million. The film was released by Disney's Buena Vista Pictures unit. Rounding out the top 10 was two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey's death penalty drama, "The Life of David Gale," which fell to No. 8 from No. 6. with $4.4 million. "The Life of David Gale," which co-stars Kate Winslet, was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Vivendi Universal. Warner Bros.' Civil War epic "Gods and Generals" slipped to No. 9 from No. 8, with $2.8 million. Starring Jeff Daniels as Union Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Robert Duvall as Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, and Stephen Lang as Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson, the film was based on the best-selling novel by Jeff Shaara. Warner Bros. is a unit of AOL Time Warner, which also owns CNN. Al Pacino's spy thriller, "The Recruit," held steady at No. 10 with $2.6 million. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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