When is a Tom Cruise movie not a Tom Cruise movie?

When it doesn't open at number one, for one thing.

Lions for Lambs, the Iraq War-inspired drama starring Cruise as a hawkish senator, Meryl Streep as his obsequious media mouthpiece and Robert Redford as the last principled man, couldn't solve the weekend box office, taking in just $6.7 million, per figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations Monday.

Fred Claus, the new Vince Vaughn holiday comedy, had its own problems, failing to crack the $20 million mark and settling for third place ($18.5 million) behind last weekend's twin hits, American Gangster (second place, $24 million) and a hardier-than-expected Bee Movie (first place, $25.6 million).

The Coen brothers were the only ones who brought their blockbuster game, grossing $1.2 million at just 28 theaters with their latest, No Country for Old Men.

Overall, business was not good for strike-stricken Hollywood—down more than 13 percent when compared with the same holiday-season week from last year.

In one respect, Lions for Lambs' fourth-place debut was not a surprise. The Redford-directed movie is a serious drama in a lousy year for serious dramas. Poor reviews and its appeal to the 35-and-older crowd—the sort of folks who don't rush out for opening weekends for fear of breaking something—didn't help.

In another respect, it's a surprise when any movie featuring Cruise's face on the poster doesn't rule the box office. According to Exhibitor Relations, up until this weekend, Cruise had opened 13 straight wide-release films at number one, a streak that began 15 years ago with A Few Good Men.

To United Artists, the Cruise-revived MGM division behind Lions for Lambs, the star's enviable run is intact on account of the movie, which Cruise helped executive produce, isn't really a Cruise movie.

"I think you have to put it in the same category where he did Magnolia," Clark Woods, president of domestic distribution for MGM, said Sunday.

Magnolia, the only other non-number one Cruise movie of the last decade and a half, opened in limited release in 1999. Though the film's biggest name, Cruise was a supporting player.

A Lions for Lambs-Magnolia comparison, though, isn't exact. The former, unlike the latter, opened wide—on 2,215 screens—and barely edged a tired, three-week-old Dan in Real Life (fifth place, $6 million; $30.8 million overall). Also, Cruise's face was all but invisible on the Magnolia poster, where he was one of nine featured actors. In Lions for Lambs, his head shares equal and prominent space with Redford's and Streep's.

Still, Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock bought the argument that Lions for Lambs is not a traditional Cruise movie, à la the Mission: Impossible franchise: "Let Tom Cruise star in another blockbuster film, and then we'll see if his star has lost its luster."

If not for the looming holidays, the end could be near for Fred Claus, which arrived on the box-office scene as Vaughn's smallest opening comedy since 2003's Old School.

Bock, who earlier had expected Fred Claus to steal some family business from Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie, said bad reviews—the New York Times called it a "would-be comedy"—probably scared off some moviegoers but that seasonal goodwill might yet bring in some customers.

"Certainly, I don't think this is a lump of coal," Bock said. "I think it will still enjoy a run."

Bee Movie, for one, proved opening weekend is not closing weekend, as it was able to claim the number one spot in its second weekend. To date, the Seinfeld CGI comedy has grossed a strong but less than Shrek-ian $71.8 million.

The R-rated American Gangster, last weekend's champ, slipped to second place. Overall, though, the Denzel Washington-Russell Crowe saga has banked more dough than Bee Movie: $80.3 million.

P2, the weekend's other major new release, wasn't much of a factor. The parking-lot-stalker tale parked itself in ninth place with $2.1 million.

Falling out of the top 10 were George Clooney's Michael Clayton ($1.7 million; $35.6 million overall) and Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone ($1.4 million; $17 million overall) after underwhelming five- and three-week runs, respectively. Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? ($1.5 million; $53.1 million overall) departed after a four-week stay that made Perry's case anew for his name-before-the-title status.

No film made more money, per theater, than Joel and Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men. The crime thriller, starring Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones, grossed an average of $43,798 at each of its screens, compared with Bee Movie's $6,482 average.

Another strong performer in limited release was Holly, the Cambodia-set drama featuring the late Chris Penn. It made $32,406 at one theater.

Here's a rundown of the top 10 films based on final Friday-Sunday studio tallies compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Bee Movie, $25.6 million
2. American Gangster, $24 million
3. Fred Claus, $18.5 million
4. Lions for Lambs, $6.7 million
5. Dan in Real Life, $6 million
6. Saw IV, $4.9 million
7. The Game Plan, $2.5 million
8. 30 Days of Night, $2.2 million
9. P2, $2.1 million
10. Martian Child, $1.8 million

(Originally published Nov. 11, 2007 at 3:08 p.m. PT.)