(From right) Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) and Mooseblood the mosquito (Chris Rock) encounter that big city hazard - windshield washer fluid in a scene from 'Bee Movie'. - Contributed

los angeles (reuters)

Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie had plenty of sting left during its second weekend, replacing American Gangster as the number 1 choice for North American moviegoers.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, the DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc production earned $26 million during the three days beginning Friday, swapping places with Universal Pictures' crime saga American Gangster, which slipped to number 2 with $24.3 million.

The holiday comedy Fred Claus, which some industry pundits said could have a shot at No. 1, came in at number 3 with a respectable $19.2 million. The Warner Bros. release stars Vince Vaughn as Santa's bitter older brother.

Tom Cruise's rare foray into low-budget drama, Lions for Lambs opened at number 4 with $6.7 million, which was in line with modest industry expectations. Meryl Streep co-stars in the critically maligned political saga, as does Robert Redford, who also directed. It marks the first United Artists release since Cruise and production partner Paula Wagner took control of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.'s dormant art-house division a year ago.

The only other new release in the top 10 was the indie woman-in-distress thriller P2, which came in at number 8 with $2.2 million. Rachel Nichols stars as a young executive pursued in an underground garage by a sadistic security guard.

Bee Movie was distributed by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. Universal Pictures is a unit of General Electric Co and Warner Bros. Pictures is a unit of Time Warner Inc P2 was released by Summit Entertainment, which is privately held. MGM is also privately held.

Following are the top 10 films at the North American box office for the weekend beginning November 9, led by Bee Movie, according to estimates compiled on Sunday by Reuters.

Final data will be issued on Monday.

1. Bee Movie - $26.0 million

2. American Gangster - $24.3 million

3. Fred Claus - $19.2 million

4. Lions for Lambs - $6.7 million

5. Dan in Real Life - $5.9 million

6. Saw IV - $5.0 million

7. The Game Plan - $2.4 million

8. P2 - $2.2 million

9. 30 Days of Night - $2.1 million

10. Martian Child - $1.8 million