Three new releases claimed the top three spots over the weekendwith Buena Vista/Spyglass' spy thriller The Recruit leading the pack with a $16.5mnumber one bow. In second was New Line's horror sequel Final Destination 2 on $16.2m while the bronze medal wentto DreamWorks' motorbike action-drama Biker Boyz on $10.1m. In The Recruit CIA headhunter Al Pacino persuadesColin Farrell to sign up at the agency's intense training ground. The picture,which was directed by Roger Donaldson, was notr warmly received by the criticsand averaged $6,944 from 2,376 venues. It was the first number one Disneypicture since The Santa Clause 2 in November.

Continuing where the 2000 original left off, New Line's FinalDestination 2 providesmore of the same as a group of strangers try to outwit Death and postpone theiruntimely demise. Directed by David Ellis and starring Ali Carter, A J Cook andMichael Landes, it received so-so reviews but played well among the 21-34demographic, averaging $5,716 from 2,834 sites. It beat the original's $10m bowand aims at least to match Final Destination's $53m final gross. The poorlyreviewed Biker Boyzsees Laurence Fishburne squaring up to Derek Luke (the young star of AntwoneFisher) for a bigmotorbike race in Los Angeles. It averaged $5,719 from 1,766 venues. ReggieRock Bythewood directed and the picture co-stars Orlando Jones, Lisa Bonet andKid Rock.

Elsewhere the landscape stayed much was the same, with WarnerBros' comedy Kangaroo Jack slipping to fourth on just over $9m for $45.9m in its third week.Last week's table topper, Columbia/Revolution's horror picture DarknessFalls, fell four tofifth on $7.5m for a $22.3m running total. Miramax's Chicago fell three to sixth and added $7.1mto the coffers for a $50.7m total in its sixth week. Screening at 623 sites,there is plenty of life yet in Rob Marshall's Broadway adaptation, which isexpected to expand wider after the Oscar nominations are unveiled on Feb 11.

New Line's The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers overtook its predecessor's $313mdomestic score after 45 days on Saturday with a $5m haul that gives it an immense$315.9m running total. It took The Fellowship Of The Ring 116 days to reach $313m. The TwoTowers fell twoplaces to seventh and could do with a few Oscar nominations if it is to reach$350m.

On limited release Universal's New Age satire The Guru from Working Title Films took$648,000 from 62 theatres in the top 10 markets. The low-budget comedy starsJimi Mistry, Heather Graham and Marisa Tomei. Overall the top 12 grossed$94.7m, up 20% from the same period last year, which was Super Bowl weekend. Nextweekend's releases include Paramount's romantic-comedy How To Lose a Guy in10 Days, starringKate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey; Buena Vista/Spyglass' Shanghai Knights, starring Jackie Chan and OwenWilson; and Focus Features' Deliver Us From Eva, starring LL Cool J and GabrielleUnion.

Estimated Top Ten US January 31-February 2, 2003

Film (Distributor)/International distribution/Estimated weekendgross/Estimated total to date

1 (-) The Recruit (Buena Vista) BVI $16.5m -

2 (-) Final Destination 2 (New Line) NLI $16.2 -

3 (-) Biker Boyz (DreamWorks) UIP $10.1m -

4 (2) Kangaroo Jack (Warner Bros) Warner Bros $9.04m $45.87m

5 (1) Darkness Falls (Columbia) Columbia TriStar/Revolution $7.5m $22.28m

6 (3) Chicago (Miramax) BVI $7.14m $50.72m

7 (5) The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (New Line) New Line International$5m $315.94m

8 (7) Just Married (Fox) Fox International $4.9m $49.8m

9 (6) Catch Me If You Can (DreamWorks) UIP $4.8m $151.9m

10 (9) AboutSchmidt (New Line)New Line International $4.7m $44.38m