LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The "Lord of the Rings" sequel passed $200 million at the North American box office on Sunday, outpacing its hit predecessor, while Leonardo DiCaprio (news) racked up two movies in the top five, led by his new release, "Catch Me If You Can" at No. 2.

With overall business boosted by the Christmas holiday, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" was the first choice of moviegoers in its second weekend. The Hobbit sequel grossed $48.9 million for the Dec. 27-29 period, according to estimates issued by its distributor, New Line Cinema.

After 12 days, the film has tallied $200.1 million. Its 2001 predecessor, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" took an extra week to break that barrier. New Line is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc .

"Catch Me If You Can," a crime caper directed by Steven Spielberg (news), ran off with $30 million during the weekend. Since opening on Christmas Day, it has tallied $48.6 million.

The true-life tale stars DiCaprio as a teenage con artist who scams millions of dollars while posing as an airline pilot, attorney and physician. The film was released by closely held DreamWorks SKG, in which Spielberg is a partner.

DiCaprio was also represented by "Gangs of New York," which slipped one notch to No. 5 in its second weekend with $11.2 million. The total for director Martin Scorsese (news)'s 19th century epic rose to $30.1 million. The $100 million film was released by Miramax Films, a unit of Walt Disney Co .

Miramax had less success with "Pinocchio," a live-action adaptation of the classic story from Italian writer-director-actor Roberto Benigni (news). It grossed just $1.1 million over the weekend, well out of the top 10. Miramax officials said they were disappointed, but expected the film to do better overseas and in home-video release.

Still, the studio's limited-release bow of the musical "Chicago" scored some melodious numbers. The film, which stars Catherine Zeta-Jones (news), Renee Zellweger (news) and Richard Gere (news), earned $2.1 million from just 77 theaters. By contrast, "Pinocchio" was playing in 1,195 theaters. "Two Towers" and "Catch Me if You Can" were each in more than 3,100 theaters.

Two hit romantic comedies grabbed the Nos. 3 & 4 slots, each down one position from last weekend. "Two Weeks Notice" (Warner Bros.), starring Sandra Bullock (news) and Hugh Grant (news), earned $16.1 million. The Jennifer Lopez (news) vehicle "Maid in Manhattan" (Columbia) pulled in $13 million. Their respective totals rose to $43.6 million after two weekends, and $57.4 million after three weekends.

Warner Bros. Pictures is also a unit of AOL Time Warner. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp (news - web sites) .

The top 12 films grossed $157 million, according to box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations -- up both 18 percent from last weekend and seven percent from the year-ago period.

LOS ANGELES, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the December 27-29 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

1. The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers .......... $48,875,549

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $200,058,231

2. Catch Me If You Can .......... $30,082,000

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $48,680,000

3. Two Weeks Notice .......... $15,518,420

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $43,044,430

4. Maid in Manhattan .......... $12,524,396

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $56,950,454

5. Gangs of New York .......... $10,948,803

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $29,873,147

6. Drumline .......... $8,108,083

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $36,619,270

7. The Wild Thornberrys .......... $7,364,432

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $18,418,284

8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets .......... $6,474,267

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $240,307,533

9. The Hot Chick .......... $4,813,878

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $22,201,384

10. Die Another Day .......... $4,365,536

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $146,699,881

Reuters/Variety

John L.:  Happy New Year.  Let's get this thing going.

Frank Abagnale Jr. was a kid who loved his parents even though they were very flawed. Frank's mom was a French immigrant who chain smoked and cheated on her husband, Frank Sr. who was in a great deal of tax debt. With his family falling apart and headed for the street gutter, Frank Jr. decided to make it on his own at the age of 16 and become the success his father never was. However, Frank Jr. was too young to garner the respect or acquire the occupation to get his family out of its money troubles. Fortunately, Frank Sr. had a little con man in him and taught his son how to fake his way into certain situations to get by. Little did the elder Abagnale realize was that his son was a natural born con man who excelled at being a convincing human chameleon. Over the next 3 to 5 years, Frank Sr. became an airline co-pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer without any formal or informal training in either profession. How he accomplished this feat and got away with it for so long is chronicled in Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me if You Can" a moderately amusing if somewhat odd tale of a very smart young man who is too stupid to get a real job. Leonardo DiCrapio... I mean Dicaprio plays Frank Jr. and gives one of his better performances. DiCaprio seems to excel here at playing a psuedo suave kid who can get a away with so much because he is attractive to the ladies who swoon over his every word if he just winks at them the right way. Looking at the film, it is almost a goof on DiCaprio's real life as a lot of things are just handed to him because he is perceived to be important just because he is an actor. He's good, but you never really get the feeling that he would be convincing enough to pass himself off as a pilot or a doctor with the simple ways he delivers his lines. Knowing this is based on a real story is also upsetting because the movie can't really show Abagnale doing anything that could actually work in real life so people don't try to imitate these stunts. There is a montage of scenes where Abagnale fails to get his forged checks cashed that goes on for a while just to show you that banks are not as stupid as Abagnale hoped they would be. But scenes where he casually walks through airports, sits in cockpits, and bosses young interns around like he is a surgeon with 20 years of practice are just too unbelievable. It did happen, but there had to be more going on than just watching old reruns of Ben Casey and Perry Mason. Tom Hanks plays Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent in charge of bank fraud who is trying to catch Dicaprio if he can. Hanks gives his usual great acting performance for a role that is not that deep on the surface. But, Hanks' little touches like his New England accent or the way he looks at his hand to remind himself of his own personal troubles help make this cross between Inspector Javert (Les Miserables) and Sam Gerard (The Fugitive) different. Christopher Walken is Frank Sr. and he makes the most of his relatively small role. Walken is good, but he has been parodied so much and does Saturday Night Live so often that everytime he speaks you want to laugh at him even as he is trying to make you cry. He has the most unique voice in Hollywood, and it keeps him stuck in these character roles and away from starring parts. His was my favorite character though. This movie takes place in the 1960s, and it is odd to see the reaction people give Abagnale when he walks into a room with a pilot's uniform on. He is considered royalty, and it helps him get away with so many illegal activities. I never knew people cared so much. If someone did these cons today, I guess they would dress up like a fireman or even a police officer. I think the many reaction shots to Ababnale's outfits were exaggerated to show how conciously or unconsciously people judge people by how they look first than what kind of person they really are. Catch Me if You Can is a pleasant little film that will entertain, but not amaze you. It seems Spielberg wanted to take it easy after the more difficult A. I. and Minority Report shoots. The combined salaries of Hanks and Dicaprio are more than what is probably cost to make this film. Final Review: 3 stars out of 5; 6 1/2 out of 10; B; thumbs up.

1. The producers of The Two Towers want it to be the second most successful film of all time, but I highly doubt that will happen.

2. Sandra Bullock is now taking over the spot that Meg Ryan used to occupy when she made romantic comedies people cared about.

3. I am still in shock that Maid in Manhattan is as successful as it is.

4. It seems that people can only take Leonardo DiCrapio one movie at a time since Gangs of New York is struggling to match its budget costs.

5. I wonder what would Gangs of New York's box office have been if Spielberg directed it with Tom Hanks in the Daniel Day Lewis Role?

6. Drumline is the sleeper hit of the month as it has surpassed its budget costs and looks to make a nice profit.

7. Hand drawn animation continues to struggle this year with The Wild Thornberrys failing to inspire the young.

8. Since Richard Harris has passed away, the character of Dumbledore will be played by Michael Gambon in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.