American Gangster stormed to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated US$46.3 million.
The Universal crime drama directed by Ridley Scott opened at 3,054 sites on Friday, crushing the competition despite its R-rating and 157-minute running time. Starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, American Gangster focuses on a detective who tries to hunt down Frank Lucas, the most influential drug lord in the Manhattan of the 1970s.
New entry Bee Movie ranked in second, collecting $39.1 million from ticket sales at 3,928 locations. DreamWorks' computer-animated feature delivered a relatively weak performance, considering its vast publicity campaign prior to Friday's release date. Directed by Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith, Bee Movie tells the story of Barry B. Benson, a courageous bee who decides to sue the human race for stealing honey from the bees.
Last week's big winner Saw IV dropped two spots to No. 3, earning $11 million. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, the fourth installment in the popular Saw series lifted its cumulative gross to $51.1 million after two weeks in release. Saw IV is about $30 million short of surpassing the $80 million domestic gross of its predecessor, Saw III.
Dan in Real Life slipped to No. 4, taking home $8.1 million from 1,925 locations. The Peter Hedges-directed drama starring Steve Carell reached a total haul of $23 million after two weeks in release. The story centers on a lonely advice columnist and single father who falls for his brother's girlfriend.
David Slade's zombie shocker 30 Days of Night ranked in fifth, pulling $4 million and reaching a cumulative gross of $34.2 million.
This upcoming weekend, three major releases will compete for the top spot at the US/Canada box office.
Christmas comes early this year with the release of Fred Claus, a comedy helmed by David Dobkin, the director of Wedding Crashers. Vince Vaughn stars as Santa Claus' brother Fred, who has been forced to move back to the North Pole. Paul Giamatti jumps into the role of the old man with a beard and red garments. Fred Claus is scheduled to hit more than 3,400 theatres.
Fans of horror thrillers will get their share next weekend with the release of Franck Khalfoun's P2, which centers on a woman who is pursued in a parking garage on Christmas Eve. Switchblade Romance director Alexandre Aja penned the script.
Seven years after stepping behind the camera for The Legend of Bagger Vance, Robert Redford returns with Lions for Lambs, a political drama starring Redford, Tom Cruise, and Meryl Streep. Matthew Michael Carnahan, whose writing credits include Peter Berg's recent thriller The Kingdom, wrote the script.
Limited releases this week include Ethan and Joel Coen's thriller No Country for Old Men and Richard Kelly's futuristic drama Southland Tales.
Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)
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that was quite the weekend at the box office.