By David Germain
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - The CIA packed a bit more punch than death in film debuts at the box office.

The Al Pacino-Colin Farrell spy thriller The Recruit debuted as the No. 1 movie with $16.5 million in its first weekend. It was closely followed by Final Destination 2, a fright flick about death stalking young people on spring break, which opened with $16.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The motorcycle-racing adventure Biker Boyz, with Laurence Fishburne and Derek Luke, premiered in third place with $10.1 million.

The buddy comedy Kangaroo Jack was No. 4 with $9 million, while the previous weekend's top movie, the horror tale Darkness Falls, fell to fifth place with $7.5 million.

In limited release, the romantic comedy The Guru, starring Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei and Jimi Mistry, opened strongly with $648,000. Playing in 62 theaters, The Guru had a strong average of $10,452, compared with a $6,944 average in 2,376 cinemas for The Recruit, $5,716 in 2,834 theaters for Final Destination 2, and $5,719 in 1,766 locations for Biker Boyz.

The overall box office was up compared to a slow weekend a year ago that corresponded with the Super Bowl, which generally dampens moviegoing. The top 12 movies grossed $94.7 million, up 20 percent from the first weekend of February last year.

"This was a really strong weekend for a January, which is usually kind of slow," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "To have two films over $16 million is not bad at all."

Pairing Pacino with rising star Farrell broadened the audience for The Recruit, which drew almost equally among the 18-to-25, 26-to-34 and 35-to-49 age groups, said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, which released the film.

"Al Pacino always delivers a great performance, and when you put him with Colin Farrell, the combination just whetted the appetite of the public on all sides," Viane said.

The sequel Final Destination 2 easily out-grossed its predecessor, which opened with $10 million in 2000. Distributor New Line Cinema expects the sequel to at least match the $53 million total gross of the original Final Destination, said Russell Schwartz, president of domestic marketing.

New Line's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers took in $5 million and edged past the $313.4 million total of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The Two Towers has raked in $315.9 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released today.

1. The Recruit, $16.5 million.

2. Final Destination 2, $16.2 million.

3. Biker Boyz, $10.1 million.

4. Kangaroo Jack, $9 million.

5. Darkness Falls, $7.5 million.

6. Chicago, $7.1 million.

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, $5 million.

8. Just Married, $4.9 million.

9. Catch Me If You Can, $4.8 million.

10. About Schmidt, $4.7 million.