CHRISTMAS 'CATCH': ONLY ONE FILM TOWERS OVER DICAPRIO'S ON HOLIDAY.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

DreamWorks' ``Catch Me If You Can'' is sprinting toward the weekend with a strong opening-day gross of $10.1 million collected Wednesday, just shy of the record Christmas Day debut of $10.2 million set last year by ``Ali.''

``Catch,'' directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, bowed in nearly 3,000 screens and placed second in a crowded marketplace jammed with major wide releases such as ``The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and limited runs of such Academy Award hopefuls as ``About Schmidt.''

``To even be in the $10 million range is pretty amazing because you are still competing with Christmas Day activities,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. ``For people to be motivated enough to get out of the house and go to the movie theater takes good marketing.''

First-place ``Two Towers'' looks to continue its box office domination as it took in $12.5 million on Christmas Day for an impressive cumulative gross of $136.2 million in just its first seven days of release. The New Line Cinema release is selling tickets at even a faster slip than its predecessor, last year's second highest-grossing film, ``The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,'' which finished its run with a total of $313.4 million.

``It is a juggernaut,'' Dergarabedian said of ``Two Towers.'' ``It is a continuation of what is one of the most successful franchises in movie history and it's a great holiday movie.''

The only other film to go into wide release was ``Pinocchio,'' released by Miramax Films. Playing in 1,200 theaters, the film sparked little interest among moviegoers on its opening day as it managed to earn a paltry $310,000.

This live-action version of ``Pinocchio'' was a big hit in Italy and stars Oscar winner Roberto Benigni (``Life Is Beautiful'') in the title role. It has been dubbed into English for its U.S. release and was unveiled without being screened by critics.

Miramax fared much better with its epic ``Gangs of New York,'' which was the fourth most popular film of the day. Playing in 1,500 theaters, ``Gangs'' earned $3.1 million for a five-day total of $15.7 million.

The romantic comedies ``Two Weeks Notice,'' headlined by Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock, and ``Maid in Manhattan,'' starring Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes, are shaping up to be solid hits.

Warner Bros.' ``Weeks'' had a third-place Christmas Day finish, earning $3.7 million for a total gross of $22.8 million in five days of release. Sony Picture Entertainment's ``Maid'' reached a cumulative gross of $40.9 million on the holiday as it added $2.4 million to its total for a fifth- place finish.

``It shows you how strong the moviegoer appetite is for romantic comedy,'' said Dergarabedian. ``When you have two competing head to head and each of them is doing well, it tells you the demand is outweighing the supply.''

Today, Miramax unveils the acclaimed movie version of the musical ``Chicago'' in 80 theaters. Bowing on a smaller number of screens in Los Angeles and New York are: ``The Hours,'' featuring the formidable acting trio of Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore; ``Max,'' starring John Cusack; the Roman Polanski-directed ``The Pianist''; ``Nicholas Nickleby,'' the drama from the Charles Dickens novel; and ``Sonny,'' a film directed by and starring Nicolas Cage.

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(color) Leonardo DiCaprio stars in DreamWorks' ``Catch Me If You Can,'' which grossed $10.1 million on its Christmas opening.