The Prestige, a film about rival magicians, put on a magic act of its own over the weekend as it debuted at No. 1 with an estimated $14.8 million, well above analysts' expectations. "I think we surprised a lot of people," Disney's distribution president, Chuck Viane told today's (Monday) Los Angeles Times. [The film had received mixed reviews, with Jan Stuart in Newsday calling it "demonically entertaining," while Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer remarked that it represented "some clunky cinematic sleight-of-hand." In between those two reactions was A.O. Scott of the New York Times who wrote that it's "a movie generous enough with its showmanship and sleight of hand to quiet the temptation to grumble about its lack of substance."] At the same time, the critically acclaimed Clint Eastwood war drama Flags of Our Fathers, which had been expected to win the box-office competition handily, opened in third place with $10.2 million. Martin Scorsese's crime drama The Departed, held on to second place with about $13.7 million. Two other films had lackluster debuts, 20th Century Fox's Flicka, which opened with $7.7 million, to tie (with The Grudge 2) for fifth place with $7.7 million, and Sony's Marie Antoinette, which premiered in eighth place with $5.3 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. The Prestige, $14.8 million; 2. The Departed, $13.7 million; 3. Flags of Our Fathers, $10.2 million; 4. Open Season, $8 million; 5. Flicka, $7.7 million; 5. (tie) The Grudge 2, $7.7 million; 7. Man of the Year, $7 million; 8. Marie Antoinette, $5.3 million; 9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, $3.9 million; 10. The Marine, $3.7 million.

The future of the movie version of the hit video game Halo is not doomed, the Los Angeles Times indicated Saturday. The newspaper reported that Microsoft, which developed the game, plans to push forward with the movie version on its own even though its previous partners on the film, Universal and 20th Century Fox, have pulled out, citing an unacceptable budget of $145 million. The studios had unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the filmmakers, who include Lord of the Rings producer-director Peter Jackson, to renegotiate their contracts. Moreover, the Times quoted one source as saying that a power struggle had developed between the two studios over control of the movie. The Times report observed that at the time the original financing deal between Microsoft, Universal, and Fox was struck, other studios wondered why Microsoft had not funded the movie on its own.

The debut of Sony's high-definition Blu-ray DVD player has been delayed once again. The player, which has been plagued with problems ranging from software glitches to parts shortages, has seen numerous delays this year. The official Sony website posted a notice over the weekend that the "targeted availability" of the player will be "on or about December 4, 2006."

The board of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) voted Sunday to ask members to pay higher dues -- the first dues increase since 1999. The membership initiation fee would be raised to $2,211 from the current $1,474, while dues would rise to $116 per year versus the current $100. The board also named Doug Allen, a former negotiator for the National Football League's Players Association, to become its new national executive director.

The complicated chess game between News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Liberty Media chief John Malone continued to play out at News Corp's annual meeting in New York on Friday, when the board extended a poison-pill measure for two years. The measure was designed by Murdoch to prevent Malone from increasing his 18-percent stake in the media giant and thereby take control of it. Analysts pointed out that 42 percent of shareholders voted against the measure. At the meeting Murdoch was asked about recent reports suggesting that Liberty would swap its stake in News Corp for News Corp's controlling stake in DirecTV. He sidestepped the question, however, responding, "Time will tell. We're not in any rush or hurry."

Game 2 of the World Series Sunday night gave Fox an easy win for the night as it registered an average 12.3 rating and a 19 share, only slightly off from last year's comparable game, which drew a 12.9/19. Fox also pulled strong numbers earlier in the evening as the overrun of its NFL football telecast scored a 12.0/20 in the 7:00 p.m. hour. ABC nevertheless competed strongly thanks to its perennial Sunday night hit show Desperate Housewives, which beat both football and baseball, with the highest ratings of night, a 13.6/19.

ABC has found a way to "repurpose" yet another one of its primetime shows. On Saturday, it aired a rerun of the new hit series Ugly Betty on cable's SOAPnet, which, like the broadcast network itself, is owned by the Walt Disney Co. It said that it planned to air a Halloween-themed episode, "The Lyin', the Watch and the Wardrobe," next Saturday. The episodes were scheduled for airing at 12:00 noon and 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that ABC and SOAPnet are preparing a month-long celebration of the 25th wedding anniversary on Nov. 21 of Luke and Laura on General Hospital. As part of the plan, Laura, played by Genie Francis, will be awakened from her state of "psychomotor disassociation" by an experimental drug. Francis, who has not appeared on the show since 2002, will be reunited with Anthony Geary, who plays Luke for the occasion, with SOAPnet airing a special featuring the two on Nov. 24. ABC said it hopes to attract "lapsed" viewers who "haven't watched the show as often or in a while."

As part of NBC Universal's planned budget cuts, some on-air news talent will be asked to take smaller paychecks, NBC News chief Steve Capus has told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Some of the salaries have gone crazy out of control," Capus told the newspaper. He said that if enough on-air personalities agree to the cuts, it may save some jobs. Capus made it clear that he's planning to do some serious arm twisting. "We may go to somebody and say, 'We may ask you to take less money in your new deal. If you're not interested in that, we may have to part ways.'" Capus indicated that he's not planning to ask Brian Williams or Meredith Vieira to take less than their current salary of $10 million a year. He explained, "We're not going on the cheap. We're still investing in our people, those who are the faces of NBC News."

In an effort to prevent viewers from hitting their remotes at the beginning of TV shows to see what else might be on, producers of new series have eliminated theme songs, the Associated Press observed today (Monday). "It's a rarity today," TV historian Tim Brooks told the wire service. "It's kind of like the Broadway musical producing his songs -- it just doesn't do that anymore." He estimated that only 10 percent of shows currently have traditional theme songs.

Jane Wyatt, best known for her role as Robert Young's TV wife on the long-running Father Knows Best in the 1950s and early '60s, died Friday of natural causes in Los Angeles at age 96, her son Christopher Ward said Sunday. She appeared in numerous TV shows and films over the years, beginning in the 1930s, ranging from Lost Horizon to Gentleman's Agreement to Amityville: The Evil Escapes to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (in which she played Spock's mother, a role she also played in the original TV series).

The Bravo cable network, owned by Universal NBC, scored its highest ratings ever last Wednesday for the season finale of Project Runway. The telecast also attracted the top ratings of the night on cable, drawing 5.4 million viewers. "To say we are pleased by last night's numbers would be an understatement," Bravo President Lauren Zalaznick said in a statement. "This is the payoff for our unrelenting passion to deliver dramatic appointment television, and we're thrilled that our viewers share our excitement."