By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two new films dealing with vastly different forms of sacrifice -- war and abstinence -- grabbed the top spots at the North American weekend box office, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

'We Were Soldiers', '40 Days And 40 Nights'

The Mel Gibson Vietnam War saga "We Were Soldiers" (Paramount Pictures) opened at No. 1 with $20.2 million, which was at the lower end of the studio's expectations.

The sex comedy "40 Days and 40 Nights" (Miramax) bowed at No. 2 with $12.5 million, which a studio spokesman said was on target. Josh Hartnett plays a jilted lover who gives up sex for the titular period in order to get over his ex-girlfriend.

Last weekend's No. 1, the vampire thriller "Queen of the Damned," tumbled to No. 6 with $5.8 million, taking its 10-day total to $23.8 million

The top five was rounded out by the Denzel Washington hostage thriller "John Q." (New Line Cinema) at No. 3 with $8.4 million, followed by the Kevin Costner supernatural drama "Dragonfly" (Universal Pictures) with $6.8 million and the Peter Pan cartoon "Return to Never Land" (Walt Disney Pictures) with $6.5 million. Each fell one spot from last weekend.

The top 12 films grossed $81 million, according to box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, down 4 percent from last weekend, but up 8 percent from the year-ago period when "The Mexican" was tops with $20.1 million.

If estimates hold when final data are issued on Sunday, "We Were Soldiers" will beat "Mexican's" record for a film opening in the first weekend of March.

Wide new releases next weekend include "The Time Machine," based on the H.G. Wells sci-fi classic, and "All About the Benjamins," starring rapper Ice Cube, who co-produced and co-wrote the action-comedy.

WAR MAY BE HELL FOR MOVIEGOERS

"We Were Soldiers" stars Gibson as an officer who leads 400 men into the first major battle of the Vietnam War, at Ia Drang Valley in 1965. The $70 million film was based on the memoir "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young," and was adapted, directed and produced by Randall Wallace, who wrote Gibson's "Braveheart."

Following "Behind Enemy Lines," "Black Hawk Down" and "Hart's War," "We Were Soldiers" could have suffered from moviegoer fatigue with war films, said Wayne Lewellen, president of distribution at Paramount. The Viacom Inc. -owned studio had targeted an opening of $20 million to $25 million, but he was still very pleased with the number.

Male viewers made up about 56 percent of the audience, but the film skewed older -- almost three-quarters of viewers were aged over 25. The studio hoped enthusiastic word of mouth would broaden the base in coming weekends.

"40 Days and 40 Nights" skewed female -- 60 percent -- and played strongest to viewers between 17 and 25, said Miramax Films marketing executive David Kaminow.

The Walt Disney Co. -owned studio hopes to benefit from the paucity of romantic pictures, and will also use some of the better reviews to remind older people that the film was made by the producers of upscale hits "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones's Diary" -- Britain's Working Title Films.

'QUEEN' MAKES PROFIT

"Queen of the Damned," starring late R&B singer Aaliyah as a 6,000-year-old Egyptian vampire bent on ruling the Earth, suffered the biggest drop in the top 10, losing 61 percent of its audience from last weekend.

The film was budgeted at a modest $30 million, and is expected to end up in the mid $30 million area -- a profitable entry once ancillary revenues such as video and TV rights -- start pouring in. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc. .

Leading Academy Award nominee "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (AOL's New Line) returned to the top 10 after a two-week absence, jumping two spots to the final rung with $3.1 million. After 11 weekends, the adventure fantasy has grossed $287.4 million. Its 10 percent fall was the slightest in the top 10. The film has 13 Oscar nominations.

The 17-day total for "John Q" stands at $51.1 million. "Dragonfly" has $19.4 million after 10 days. "Return to Never Land" has $35.3 million after 17 days.

Rounding out the top 10, "Big Fat Liar" and "A Beautiful Mind" each fell one place to Nos. 7 and 8, with $4.8 million and $4.4 million, respectively. Their totals rose to $38.8 million and $138.7 million. Both were released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Vivendi Universal SA. .

The Britney Spears road movie "Crossroads" (Paramount) fell four places to No. 9 with $4.0 million, taking its 17-day total to $31.2 million -- about 2-1/2 times its production budget.

The top movies in North America -- March 1-3

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the March 1-3 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

Title Gross Gross

1. We Were Soldiers .......... $20,212,543

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $20,212,543

2. 40 Days and 40 Nights .......... $12,229,529

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $12,229,529

3. John Q. .......... $8,512,403

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $51,187,048

4. Return to Never land .......... $6,854,935

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $35,688,424

5. Dragonfly .......... $6,618,465

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $19,216,520

6. Queen of the Damned .......... $5,911,449

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $23,916,561

7. Big Fat Liar .......... $4,956,960

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $39,030,420

8. A Beautiful Mind .......... $4,648,985

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $138,929,921

9. Crossroads .......... $4,054,557

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $31,198,202

10. The Lord of the Rings .......... $3,318,231

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $287,573,505

Reuters/Variety

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