American Gangster Is No. 1

Worthy of the hype - go see it...

“American Gangster'' opened as the top movie in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, taking in $46.3 million for Universal Pictures.

Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, "American Gangster'' opened in 3,054 theaters. The film was expected to generate $34 million this weekend, said Gitesh Pandya, publisher of BoxOfficeGuru.com.

Washington stars as real-life drug dealer Frank Lucas who used dead bodies from the war in Vietnam to smuggle heroin into the U.S. He's being tracked down by Detective Richie Roberts, played by Crowe.

Washington's biggest opening weekend movie previously was "Inside Man,'' which had weekend ticket sales of $28.9 million when it debuted in March 2006. Crowe's best was "Gladiator,'' which collected $34.8 million on its first weekend in May 2000.

Source: bloomberg.com