'Saw III' cuts up rivals at Halloween box office

LOS ANGELES, Oct 30 (Reuters) The familiar sound of fearful screaming coming from movie theaters across North America belonged to ''Saw III,'' as the horror franchise took hold of the Halloween box office for the third time in as many years.

According to studio estimates issued yesterday, the chiller sold about 34.3 million dollar worth of tickets since opening October 28. The three-day sum compares to an opening of 31.7 million dollar for ''Saw II'' a year earlier, and 18.3 million dollar for ''Saw'' in 2004.

Martin Scorsese's surprise smash ''The Departed'' held at No. 2 for a third week with 9.8 million dollar, taking the total for the gangster thriller to 91.9 million dollar. Last weekend's champ, the feuding-magician saga ''The Prestige,'' fell to No. 3 with 9.6 million dollar, giving it a 10-day haul of 28.8 million dollar.

After a soft debut last weekend, Clint Eastwood's World War Two drama ''Flags of our Fathers'' slipped one place to No. 4 with 6.4 million dollar; its total rose to 19.9 million dollar.

As with the other ''Saw'' movies, the latest revolves around an ailing serial killer, Jigsaw (played by Tobin Bell), with a penchant for inventing ingenious methods of torture. It was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

''The Departed'' was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc. ''The Prestige'' was released by Touchstone Pictures, a unit of Walt Disney Co. ''Flags of Our Fathers'' was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.

Reuters SAM DB0902