'The Departed' shoots down Leatherface, reigns over weekend box office

Martin Scorsese' gangster flick The Departed has brought good news for Warner Bros. The film, starring Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, grossed US$27 million in the US and Canada on its debut weekend.The Departed revolves around two men, one a cop who is an informer for the mob and another who is a mobster and an informer for the cops. Nicholson plays an eccentric mob boss. The film earned an average of US$ 8,954 per screen across 3,017 theaters.The boost was welcomed by Warner Bros. “Life is good right now. This is just the beginning of a strong fourth quarter for us,” said Dan Fellman, who heads domestic distribution at the studio. For Scorsese, The Departed takes over from 1991's Cape Fear as the best opener.Cape Fear amassed US$10.3 million when it debuted. Scorsese's other hits include GoodFellas, Raging Bull and Taxi Driver. However, his latest film has still to beat the critically acclaimed The Aviator, which earned a whopping US$102.6 million domestically and US$213.7 million globally.