Jerry Seinfeld is king bee at box office

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jerry Seinfeld's "Bee Movie" had plenty of sting left during its second weekend, replacing "American Gangster" as the No. 1 choice for North American moviegoers.

As ticket sales returned to their unusually lackluster routine, "Bee Movie," the cartoon Seinfeld originated and stars in, rose to the top with a three-day haul of $26 million during its second weekend of North American release, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

The DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc production, traded places with Universal Pictures' Denzel Washington-Russell Crowe crime saga "American Gangster," which slipped to No. 2 with $24.3 million, also in its second round.

The last movie to rise through the rankings and hit No. 1 for the first time was "Wedding Crashers" in July 2005. (Former champ "The Chronicles of Narnia" regained the No. 1 slot in January 2006.)

The comedy "Fred Claus," featuring "Wedding Crashers" star Vince Vaughn, opened at No. 3 with a respectable $19.2 million. Tom Cruise's rare foray into low-budget drama, "Lions for Lambs," opened at No. 4 with $6.7 million, which was in line with modest industry expectations.

"Lions for Lambs" marks the first United Artists release since Cruise and production partner Paula Wagner took control of MGM's dormant art-house division a year ago.

After ending a six-week losing streak last weekend, overall year-on-year sales fell once again. The top-12 films earned $99 million, down 11 percent from the year-ago period, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers.

Some industry pundits had forecast "Fred Claus" could hit No. 1 if "Bee" and "Gangster" lost more than half of their opening-weekend audiences. In fact the duo held up remarkably well, off just 32 percent and 44 percent, respectively. The 10-day tally for "Bee Movie" stands at $72.2 million, while "American Gangster" has earned $80.7 million.