Presto!

Clint Eastwood's World War II drama Flags of Our Fathers, (reviews) goes head to head with Christopher Nolan's mystery/thriller The Prestige, (reviews) in this weekend's box office derby for the top spot...Both films are getting their fair share of critical praise. It will be interesting to see which one of them comes out ahead by Monday.

Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale face off as rival magicians in The Prestige

Will the film be #1 on Monday?

Other new releases for the week include: Marie Antoinette (reviews)-an historical biopic from Sofia Coppola. Unfortunately though, the buzz on this period piece is pretty flat. Flicka (reviews) is based on the popular best selling novel, My Friend Flicka, by Mary O'Hara. The movie should do well with its target demo--teen women. And finally, Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas"--originally released in 1993, gets a second shot, all jazzed up by new 3-D effects...

Variety's Ian Mohr talks about all of this and more in Prestige pics battle at B.O.:

Clint Eastwood's WWII epic "Flags of Our Fathers" will have to fight off Christopher Nolan's magic-themed period piece "The Prestige" this weekend as studios start rolling out their big guns in the slog toward awards contention.

Also entering the fray will be Sony's Sofia Coppola-helmed "Marie Antoinette," the hipster twist on the story of the French queen that will target a mix of younger auds and arthouse denizens as it opens in just 859 [theaters]...

Sony also has another upmarket awards hopeful hitting screens, the lit adaptation "Running With Scissors," which starts its fall platform run in eight markets.

Fox is counterprogramming with family pic "Flicka" in 2,877 playdates as the frame's widest new rollout. Pic butts up against Disney's 3-D release of Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas," which hits in time for Halloween at 168 engagements.

But frontrunners "Flags" and "Prestige" both face challenges in their effort to replace Sony horror sequel "The Grudge 2" at the top of the charts.

"Flags" will roll out on just 1,800 screens -- 481 less than "Prestige" -- since Paramount has chosen to take a slow-and-steady release path, rather than try a blitz, based on Eastwood's track record.

Par brass said they have targeted 1,800 engagements by looking at the behavior of Eastwood's 2003 effort "Mystic River," which opened on 1,470 to take in $10.4 million on its way to $90 million-plus.

Venerable helmer's follow-up, "Million Dollar Baby," bowed in 2004 in 2,000 playdates, nailing a $12.3 million first frame before wrapping up $100.5 million and a best pic Oscar.

Par will be happy with a finish in the low eight figures for "Flags," which will skew toward older males.

Meanwhile, "Prestige," opening in 2,281 playdates, comes on the heels of another, unexpectedly popular pic with magic themes, the Yari Group's "The Illusionist." Edward Norton starrer has performed above expectations, taking in $36.5 million to date.

"Prestige" could very well conjure a young demo with stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.

But still standing in the way is Martin Scorsese's "The Departed," the starry Warner Bros. cop drama that slid a scant 31% to land at No. 2 last frame...

Over at Entertainment Weekly, Joshua Rich thinks This weekend will be more about "Prestige" than "Flags" or "Flicka"...saying A cast of Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman will spell a winner for Disney's magic thriller

Both "Flags" and The Prestige look awesome and either film will look good in the coveted top spot...

In unrelated matters: Remember I told you on Wednesday about legal troubles for film star Wesley Snipes and that he was on run? Well, he has finally turned up...