DreamWorks' feature stings competition

DreamWorks Animation's "Bee Movie" showed surprising sting in its second weekend, buzzing its way to the top of the domestic box and beating out holdover "American Gangster" and new entries "Fred Claus" and Tom Cruise-Meryl Streep-Robert Redford starrer "Lions for Lambs."
"Bee," voiced by Jerry Seinfeld, declined just 32% to an estimated $26 million from 3,944 playdates for a cume of $72.2 million, according to Rentrak.

That's quite a honied victory, considering "Bee" opened at No. 2 the previous weekend behind the bow of Universal's "Gangster." It's not often that a movie moves up to the top of the chart in its second weekend.

In its second frame, "Gangster" came in No. 2, declining 44% to an estimated $24.3 million from 3,059 runs for a tasty cume of $80.7 million.

Warner Bros. and United Artists tried to stay upbeat over the less-than-stellar openings of "Claus" and "Lions," the first UA title released under Cruise and Paula Wagner's rule.

Starring Vince Vaughn, "Claus" opened to an estimated $19.2 million from 3,603 theaters, putting it at No. 3. Holiday family title is the first PG rated film that Vaughn has starred in. Warners said Christmas movies are a marathon, not a sprint, and that it expects "Claus" to play solidly through the holidays.

Still, inside the studio, execs had looked for "Claus" to hit the $20 million mark.

"Lions" struggled to find an aud, grossing an estimated $6.7 million from 2,215 runs. Directed by Redford, "Lions" came in 4th. It's the latest in a string of movies dealing with U.S. policy abroad and the war on terror that haven't been able to rally substantial box office grosses.

On the specialty side, the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" made a strong debut. Film opened to an estimated $1.2 million from 28 theaters in key markets for a hefty per screen average of $42,912. A co-production of Miramax Films and Paramount Vantage, "No Country" is being distributed domestically by Miramax.