Take gets sweeter for 'Bee Movie'

November 12, 2007|David Germain, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Jerry Seinfeld turned more honey into money as his animated comedy "Bee Movie" buzzed to the top of the box office in its second weekend.

The DreamWorks-Paramount flick, which had debuted at No. 2 behind Universal's "American Gangster" the previous weekend, packed in family crowds to pull in $26 million, raising its total to $72.2 million, according to studio estimates yesterday.

"American Gangster," starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, was a strong No. 2 with $24.3 million in sales, lifting its total to $80.7 million.

Two of Hollywood's biggest cultural icons - Santa Claus and Tom Cruise - had to settle for also-ran debuts.

The Warner Bros. family comedy "Fred Claus," with Vince Vaughn as the black-sheep brother of Santa (Paul Giamatti), opened at No. 3 with $19.2 million, on par with last November's $19.5 million debut of Tim Allen's holiday tale "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause."

Cruise's "Lions for Lambs," costarring Robert Redford, who directed the film, and Meryl Streep in a drama interlocking three stories in the war on terror, premiered at No. 4 with $6.7 million.

Summit Entertainment's "P2," starring Wes Bentley and Rachel Nichols in a thriller about a woman trapped in a parking garage and terrorized by the attendant on Christmas Eve, opened at No. 8 with $2.2 million.

Joel and Ethan Coen's crime tale "No Country for Old Men" got off to a great start in limited release, taking in $1.2 million in just 28 theaters for an average of $42,929 a cinema.