Hugh Jackman in a scene from the movie 'The Prestige.' - Contributed
LOS ANGELES (Reuters):
War raged on several fronts at the weekend box office in North America as the duelling magicians in the period thriller The Prestige vanquished the United States troops in director Clint Eastwood's World War II drama Flags of Our Fathers.
According to studio estimates issued yesterday, Prestige sold about US$14.8 million worth of tickets during its first three days, while Flags flew at number three with US$10.2 million. The soldiers also were outgunned by the gangsters in Martin Scorsese's The Departed, which held steady at number two with US$13.7 million 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 number five with the previous weekend's champ, The Grudge 2. Both reported sales of about US$7.7 million.
18th century saga
Sofia Coppola's 18th century saga, Marie Antoinette, opened at number eight with US$5.3 million, 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 theatres, and boasted the star power of Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and veteran rocker David Bowie.
The Prestige, released in 2,281 theatres, 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 US$10 million range and was confident that rave reviews would underpin the movie in the coming weeks.
Unknown cast
Flags, which features a largely-unknown cast playing the troops who raised the U.S. flag in the iconic photo from Iwo Jima, was released in 1,876 theatres by Paramount Pictures. The Viacom Inc.-owned studio inherited the US$90 million 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 (US$10.4 million) and Million Dollar Baby (US$12 million). 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 US$77.2 million after three weeks, and is on course to reach US$120 million, 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 US$103 million.
Flicka, a US$14 million 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.
