By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES (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.

Al Pacino's spy thriller, "The Recruit", held steady at No. 10 with $2.6 million.

Reuters/Variety

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office for the Feb. 28-March 2 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

1. Cradle 2 The Grave .......... $16,521,468

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $16,521,468

2. Old School .......... $14,039,612

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $37,379,629

3. Daredevil .......... $11,121,009

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $84,186,869

4. How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days .......... $10,252,364

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $ 77,620,291

5. Chicago .......... $7,853,903

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $104,901,344

6. The Jungle Book 2 .......... $6,984,002

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $33,865,935

7. Shanghai Knights .......... $5,027,902

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $50,931,526

8. The Life of David Gale .......... $4,537,395

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $13,607,445

9. Gods and Generals .......... $2,946,476

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $8,932,117

10. The Recruit .......... $2,728,478

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $48,093,286

Reuters/Variety

John L.: Action and comedy are ruling at the box office while serious dramas are faltering quite a bit. Jet Li and DMX are back as people who enjoy kicking other humans in the knees with Cradle to the Grave. This is the third movie in the seemingly unending action movies made with the same cast. More on CTTG in my full review. It seems that the other studios were afraid of Cradle since no other movie came out in wide release this week.

CRADLE TO THE GRAVE - FULL REVIEW

Character development is necessary in some movies and not in others. A movie like Cradle to the Grave does not need to develop its characters that much. It's premise is so superficial that only bits and pieces are needed. This movie wants to be balls to the wall action and it delivers its promise. CTTG is the story of Fait (DMX (Earl Simmons)) and his merry band of bank robbers who usually steal from the evil rich and give back to the urban poor. Fait's mission this time is to steal some diamonds, but during the heist they come across what look to be "black diamonds" and belive they may have found something real special. They did and a lot of people want them back especially current Tawainese government agent, Su (Jet Li) and ex-Tawainese government agent and now really really evil dude, Ling (Mark Dacascos). Fait's daughter is kidnapped by Ling to force him to return the stones, but problems arise when the black diamonds come up missing, or should I say stolen. To resolve all of these conflicts many people are shot and kicked real real hard in the face, legs, and chest. Fait's group of thieves are pretty competent in their own specialties. The stand out is Tommy (Anthony Anderson) who is the distracter recon guy. His opening scene where he has to get the security guards attention away from the cameras in bank vault is very funny and looks to be a bit ad libbed. Anderson is a great comedic talent who is very close to breaking out as a lead character. He wisecracks his way through every role he plays, but he is usually very funny. Gabrielle Union shows up as Daria, the sex appeal. Union is a good actress and is somewhat wasted here in a somewhat thankless role. She is given enough to do, but she seems to be a bit above these type of roles. Her big fight scene is okay, but a bit gratuitous. Tom Arnold as Archie is not really in the group, but he helps out when people need weapons or info on the streets about what is going on with the underworld. Like Anderson, Arnold is there mostly for comic relief. He never has a conversation, just a stand up routine of one liners and nervous twitches. His chemistry with Anderson at the end during the credits is a highlight and plays off the bit they did at the end of Exit Wounds. I would not be surprised if those two got their own movie or tv show together. DMX has to carry the film and he does a good job. This hardcore rapper is not the best actor, but he has a good action anti hero look that makes him credible on screen. The relationship with his daughter is a bit forced for plot reasons, but it is at least an attempt make you care for his character and gives him motivation to do the things he does. Jet Li gives probably his best American movie performance since Lethal Weapon 4. "Kiss of the Dragon" and "The One" were disappointing when compared to his more hardcore Hong Kong films, but his strong silent type is finally used well here. Li's English is getting better, and his fight choreography is smoother. I would like to see one day where an Asian law enforcement agent is able to do his investigation in their home country instead of always sidekicking with some crazy American. I guess it's necessary to have a Chris Tucker or an Owen Wilson to do most of the talking since the Asian accent and United States English don't mix that well. Cradle to the Grave is constantly moving with an action sequence happening at least every 10 minutes if not quicker. The best ones were the 4x4 chase and the Ultimate Fighting battle royal with Jet Li vs about 20 dudes. Completely over the top, completely ridiculous, completely fun. I enjoyed this movie quite a bit as it did what it was supposed to do without anything being overly offensive. For a good popcorn action flick, Cradle to the Grave is a good choice. I still have no idea what the title means though. Final Review: 3 1/2 stars out of 5; 7 out of 10; B; thumbs up. The plot eventually becomes too stupid for words, so I can't overly hype it like I'd like to, but it is still one of the better movies I have seen in 2003.