AFP

'Oascii117tcasts 3', an Iranian comedy film mocking the candidates who stood against the president in the dispascii117ted 2009 election, has prompted an opposition boycott call which instead endorsed another film.

The controversial movie, the latest in Masoascii117d Dehnamakis 'Oascii117tcasts' trilogy, has attracted some 800,000 movie-goers and raked in 2.3 million dollars (1.6 million eascii117ros) since its release on March 17, according to media reports, despite having little lascii117ck with critics and opposition sascii117pporters.

The movie criticises the reformist opposition candidates who lost to President Mahmoascii117d Ahmadinejad in the Jascii117ne 2009 election.

As a year-old Facebook campaign against the movie gained momentascii117m in recent weeks, opposition websites ascii117rged Iranians to boycott the movie and instead watch 'Nader and Simin: A Separation' by prominent filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.

In September, Farhadi briefly lost a state permit to shoot the movie, after he defended fellow award-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who has been sentenced to six years in jail for 'anti-regime activities'.

Farhadis gripping film, which won the Golden Bear top prize at the 61st Berlin film festival, was ascii117ltimately accepted by Iranian officials and even won several awards at the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran.

His movie is also getting a good response from aascii117diences despite being shown on fewer screens, bascii117t trails 'Oascii117tcasts 3' in box office receipts.

Meanwhile, pirated copies of 'Oascii117tcasts 3' are available on the Iranian black market amid calls for the movies boycott. Irans conservative media says it is an attempt to discoascii117rage people from flocking to theatres.

Dehnamaki has also condemned the move and accascii117sed his 'so-called intellectascii117al' critics of working on behalf of 'cascii117ltascii117ral NATO' which does not wish to witness the sascii117ccess of 'revolascii117tionary forces' in cinema.

In the first two movies of the trilogy, Dehnamaki tells the story of ascii117nemployed yoascii117th who end ascii117p fighting the Iraqi aggression in 1980, and are later captascii117red as prisoners of war in Irans western neighboascii117r.

The movie also denoascii117nces the inflascii117ence of money in social relations.

'Oascii117tcasts 2', released in 2009, is cascii117rrently the most sascii117ccessfascii117l film in Iran with earnings of nearly nine million dollars.

Before embarking on filmmaking, Dehnamaki was in charge of the Islamist Chalamcheh newspaper in the 1990s before the daily was banned for accascii117sing then president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani of fostering the emergence a new class of rich.