DreamWorks-Paramount's Bee Movie climbed to the top of the North American charts at the weekend as it traded places with Universal's crime saga American Gangster.

Bee Movie added an estimated $26m through Paramount for $72.2m after two weekends, while Gangster raised its total after the same amount of time by $24.3m to $80.7m.

Warner Bros' comedy Fred Claus with Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti launched in third place on a respectable $19.2m.

The same couldn't be said for Lions For Lambs, the first release from UA since Paula Wagner and Tom Cruise took over the reins a year ago, which debuted through MGM in fourth place.

The film, which stars Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, was clearly hurt by poor reviews and grossed $6.7m. It was a similar story overseas, where the anti-war polemic launched in 45 territories and grossed $10.3m.

The only other new release in the top 10 was P2, the maiden launch from Summit Entertainment. The thriller stars Rachel Nichols as a woman menaced by a security guard in an underground car park launched in eighth place on $2.2m. Wes Bentley also stars.

Overall box office fell again, as the top 12 films earned a combined $99m gross, which was approximately 11% down on the same weekend in 2006.

Next weekend's wide releases are: Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman through Fox/Walden; New Line's epic romance Love In The Time Of Cholera featuring an ensemble cast that includes Javier Bardem and Benjamin Bratt; Paramount's CGI version of Beowulf with Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie; and Paramount Vantage's bittersweet family drama Margot At The Wedding with Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black.

Estimated Top 10 North America Nov 9-11, 2007
Film (Dist)/Int'l dist/Est wkd gross/Est total to date

1 (2) Bee Movie (DreamWorks-Paramount) PPI $26m $72.2m
2 (1) American Gangster (Universal) UPI $24.3m $80.7m
3 (-) Fred Claus (Warner Bros) WBPI $19.2m -
4 (-) Lions For Lambs (MGM/UA) Fox Int'l $6.7m -
5 (4) Dan In Real Life (Buena Vista) Focus Features International $5.9m $30.7m
6 (3) Saw IV (Lionsgate) Mandate Int'l $11m $5m $58.1m
7 (6) The Game Plan (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $2.4m $85.4m
8 (-) P2 (Summit Entertainment) Summit Int'l $2.2m -
9 (5) 30 Days Of Night (Sony) Mandate Int'l $2.1m $37.4m
10 (7) Martian Child (New Line) NLI $1.8m $6m