Hollywood Deep

Ridley Scott’s gritty ’70s drug-dealer epic, “American Gangster,” was number one in last weekends box office tally. Gangster handily out gunned Jerry Seinfeld’s “Bee Movie”, by 7 million dollars, appearing on 1000 less screens. The two movies were successful in breaking the post-summer doldrums and announcing that the winter holiday hits are on the way.

American Gangster hauled in a generous $46 million to take the number one spot on the weekend. Meanwhile, Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee Movie, which weighed in with a hefty budget of $150 million (just $10 million shy of animated budget record holder Shrek The Third), held its own at second place with $39 million, and the promise of long legs through the holidays.

While moviegoers have seemingly been turned off by the endless parade of serious-minded, adult themed movies this fall, “American Gangster” provides the right combination of entertainment and drama. The film tells the real-life story of Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas, who ruled the heroin trade in 1970s New York, and the cop who brought him down. The script was adapted by Steven Zaillian from a New York Magazine article by Mark Jacobson. Scott’s very stylized filmmaking, with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in the leads, this one seems on it’s way to to the awards circuit.

The Bee Movie on the other hand, has been unmercifully promoted and publicized by Jerry Seinfeld in the weeks leading up to it’s release. It should do OK at the box office, but don’t expect many awards. In what seems to be a bit of self indulgence by Seinfeld, the budget and genre seems to tell Hollywood, ‘I’m Jerry Seinfeld… I created one of the most popular TV shows of all time! Don’t you all remember who I AM? I can do anything I want. Even if it’s an animated movie about a bee suing honey companies, with a budget of $150 million, that took 4 years to make… I’m SEINFELD Damn it!
Thank God the movie came out, I was tired of seeing old Jerry on every TV talk show, talking about how he totally micro managed the making of the movie. Now we can all go back to watching him on reruns of Seinfeld, where he is still good. Hopefully the next time he wakes up, it will be worth it.
…DEEP!

Weekend Box Office
1. American Gangster, $46.3 million
2. Bee Movie, $39.1 million
3. Saw IV, $11 million
4. Dan in Real Life, $8.1 million
5. 30 Days of Night, $4 million

Full Box Office Chart at IMDB

American Gangster trailer

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