In a shocking turn of events, Bee Movie came buzzing back to life this weekend stealing the #1 spot from recent victor, American Gangster.  Bee’s $25 million take also embarrassed the newest comedic entry, Fred Claus.

Although fellow ‘Frat Packer’ Will Ferrell rang bells with November 2003’s Elf, Vince Vaughn couldn’t come close to matching his friend’s $31.1 million debut.  The news was especially surprising given Vaughn and director David Dobkin’s recent collaboration on 2005’s Wedding Crashers.  Could this mean Vaughn’s only appealing when he’s part of a larger comedic team?

Also noteworthy this weekend was the disappointing performance of Lions for Lambs.  Lions wasn’t expected to take in Mission Impossible-esque numbers, but the film did still boast Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and actor/director Robert Redford.  As it was, the movie grossed less than any other Cruise-attached wide release in more than 20 years.  At least Streep can say this topical film debuted higher than her last attempt (Rendition).

P2, the only other new Top Ten entry, racked up ninth place.

1. Bee Movie, DreamWorks,$25,565,462
2. American Gangster, Universal, $24,028,445
3. Fred Claus, Warner Bros., $18,515,473
4. Lions for Lambs, MGM, $6,702,434
5. Dan in Real Life, Touchstone, $6,002,717
6. Saw IV, Lionsgate, $4,949,812
7. The Game Plan, Disney, $2,462,122
8. 30 Days of Night, Sony, $2,172,031
9. P2, Summit Entertainment, $2,083,398
10. Martian Child, New Line, $1,843,767