Magicians scoop troops on box-office battlefield

LOS ANGELES, Oct 23 (Reuters) War raged on several fronts at the weekend box office in North America as the dueling magicians in the period thriller ''The Prestige'' vanquished the US troops in director Clint Eastwood's World War Two drama ''Flags of Our Fathers.'' According to studio estimates issued yesterday, ''Prestige'' sold about 14.8 million dollars worth of tickets during its first three days, while ''Flags'' flew at No 3 with 10.2 million dollars.

The soldiers also were outgunned by the gangsters in Martin Scorsese's ''The Departed,'' which held steady at No 2 with 13.7 million dollars in its third weekend. ''The Departed'' is on track to become the biggest film in Scorsese's career.

''It's nice to see a battle of quality movies for once,'' said Chuck Viane, president of domestic theatrical distribution at Walt Disney Co, which released ''The Prestige.'' Also new was the family film ''Flicka,'' which tied at No 5 with the previous weekend's champ, ''The Grudge 2.'' Both reported sales of about 7.7 million dollars.

Sofia Coppola's 18th century saga ''Marie Antoinette'' opened at No 8 with 5.3 million dollars, a solid figure given its limited release.

Industry observers expected a closer battle between ''Prestige'' and ''Flags,'' with some predicting the latter could come out on top. On the other hand, ''The Prestige'' -- directed by Christopher Nolan of ''Batman Begins'' fame -- opened in more theaters, and boasted the star power of Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and veteran rocker David Bowie.

CLINT DRAWS OLDIES ''The Prestige,'' released in 2,281 theaters, follows the rivalry between two turn-of-the-century magicians (played by Bale and Jackman) who are obsessed with a trick that transports them from one part of the stage to another. Disney had expected an opening in the 10 million dollars range and was confident that rave reviews would underpin the movie in the coming weeks.

''Flags,'' which features a largely unknown cast playing the troops who raised the US flag in the iconic photo from Iwo Jima, was released in 1,876 theaters by Paramount Pictures. The Viacom Inc-owned studio inherited the 90 million dollars project with its acquisition of DreamWorks SKG, which partnered on the film with Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. Pictures.

Its opening was within the expectations of Paramount, which looked for guidance from the first wide weekends of Eastwood's recent Oscar-winners ''Mystic River'' (10.4 million dollars) and ''Million Dollar Baby'' (12 million dollars). The audience was older -- about 80 per cent were aged 30 and above. Exit polling indicated 75 per cent of moviegoers would recommend the movie.

''The Departed'' has earned 77.2 million dollars after three weeks, and is on course to reach 120 million dollars, according to distributor Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

Scorsese's best performer to date is 2004's ''The Aviator,'' which ended up with 103 million dollars.

''Flicka,'' a 14 million dollars remake of the 1943 equine classic ''My Friend Flicka,'' was released by News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox. It stars Tim McGraw, Maria Bello and 27-year-old Alison Lohman as the willful teen who tames a mustang filly.

Fox said the opening was within expectations.

''Marie Antoinette'' stars Kirsten Dunst in the title role as the ill-fated queen and Coppola's cousin Jason Schwartzman as her meek husband Louis XVI. Opening in just 859 theaters, its 5.3 million dollars bow was deemed ''respectable'' by distributor Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp.

Reuters SSC VP0912