SATURDAY AM: I'm told Universal's American Gangster stole the box office show Friday by snatching $16 million in domestic gross receipts at 3,054 theaters. The Imagine production filled with Oscar winners -- written by Steven Zaillian, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe -- should make $46.4 million for the weekend. That makes this biopic drama the biggest R-rated motion picture opening in history for a movie that's more than 2 1/2-hours long (beating Troy's $46.8M and Gladiator's $34.8M). It's also Denzel's and Russell's biggest opening ever, and the second biggest drama in history to open in November (behind Eight Mile's $51.2M but ahead of Jarhead's $27.7M). "This is as great as I could possibly have dreamed," a studio source told me last night. Indeed, there were huge sighs of relief around Universal which had been trying bigtime all week to lower expectations for American Gangster's debut for a myriad reasons. Not the least of which was the sudden appearance of a pirated copy on the Internet, plus a fall slump with many R-rated dramas failing to gain traction.

But this weekend ends all that with the biggest anticipated box office from Friday through Sunday since 2007's record-breaking summer. Busy like a bee -- specifically Jerry Seinfeld's PG-rated Bee Movie which opened a big No. 2 Friday. My sources say the DreamWorks Animation toon distributed by Paramount took in around $10.3 million from 3,928 venues but should really buzz after Saturday kiddie matinees. This animated pic aimed at a four-quadrant audience is looking at a honey of a $38.5 million weekend. Still, with a running time of only 90 minutes, Bee Movie can squeeze in many more showings than American Gangster which clocks in at 2 hours 38 minutes.

Both big hits had very different marketing strategies. The team behind American Gangster started way back at the very beginning of the summer with only one trailer (tagged to Ocean's Thirteen) and then staying with just that ad until only two weeks ago. This was a major departure for the studio. But a single clip especially resonated -- bad guy Denzel showing what a good son he is by buying his mother a house. "This most talked-about scene was one of many powerful  suggestions of the complexity of the film," an insider told me. The team behind the movie also wanted to draw on all the similarities to last year's Oscar-winner The Departed, which also centered on cops and gangsters, also starred marquee actors and had a famous director, also earned an R rating, and also received stellar reviews (80% positive for American Gangster on Rotten Tomatoes). The Departed not only opened to $26.7 million from almost the same number of theaters but went on to earn $132+M domestically and $289+M worldwide. Icing on American Gangster's cake was when hip hop impresario JayZ personally created an album inspired by it. And its plot about a Harlem crime boss, plus young African American actors in supporting roles, appealed to urban audiences.

In contrast, Jerry Seinfeld, who voiced and co-wrote and produced, went anywhere and everywhere promoting his new movie almost to the point of overexposure. (Jerry got busted for his arrogant appearance on Larry King; the viral video was all over the Internet Friday.)  He also did anything and everything to market it, including pitch MickeyD. As a result, the Bee Movie is that rare toon trying to cash in on both the kid market (with animation) and the adult market (with Seinfeld fans). "There's nothing traditionally family about Jerry's position in the marketplace," an exec told me tonight. So, despite so-so reviews (55% positive), Bee Movie did B+ biz.

The only other newcomer at the box office was New Line's Martian Child starring John Cusack in what barely should have opened on Lifetime TV instead of in 2,020 theaters. It's yet another flop for Bob Shaye's company, coming in only 6th with $1.1 million Friday for what should be a disastrous $3.4 mil weekend.

The rest of the top 10 were familiar titles. Here's the chart:

1. 1. American Gangster  $16M Fri, $? Sat, and est $? Sun. (cume $16M)
2. 2. Bee Movie  $10.3M Fri, $? Sat, and est $? Sun. ($10.3M)
3. 3. Saw IV  $3.7M Fri, $? Sat, and est $? Sun. ($43.7M)
4. 4. Dan In Real Life  $2.6M Fri, $? Sat, and est $? Sun. ($17.4M)
5. 5. 30 Days Of Night  $1.2M Fri, $? Sat, and est $? Sun. ($31.4M)
6. 6. Martian Child  $1.1M Fri, $? Sat and est $? Sun. ($1.1M)
7. 7. The Game Plan  $1.0M Fri, $? Sat and est $? Sun. ($79.1M)
8. 8. Michael Clayton  $850K Fri, $? Sat, and est $? Sun. ($31.1M)
9. 9. Why Did I Get Married?  $750K Fri, $? Sat, and est $? Sun. ($49.2M)
10. 10. Gone Baby Gone  $675K Fri, $? Sat, and est $? Sun. ($13.2M)