My weekend Beowulf figure says $25,886,000 but Fantasy Mogul’s Steve Mason says Beowulf took in $10.4 million yesterday and will probably reach $30 million by Sunday night. (Who can you trust? Every day brings deception.) Bee Movie will edge out American Gangster, $13,801,000 to $12,792,000, for the #2 and ##3 slots. And Fred Claus, believe it or not, dropped only 32% — a pretty good hold. Critics and others with actual taste buds detested it, but the low-rent family audience will line up for almost anything cheery, glossy, broad and kid-friendly.

And yet they didn’t support Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, which will earn $9,396,000 and just under $3000 a print by Sunday night — a tank. (Was it the Dustin Hoffman factor? Family auds are renowned for their lack of standards so why did they blow this one off?) No Country for Old Men expanded to 148 screens and will end up $2,944,000 for the weekend — just under $20,000 a print. Love in the Time of Cholera is a wipeout with $1,960,000 and $2300 a print for the weekend.