‘Gangster’s’ only enemy is Seinfeld

As anyone acquainted with 2005’s indie movie sensation “Hustle & Flow” -- and its Oscar-winning hip-hop anthem -- will tell you, it’s hard out here for a pimp. But for a heavily armed, cool-as-ice international heroin trafficker? Totally different story.

Heading into multiplexes in wide release this weekend, Ridley Scott’s gritty ‘70s drug-dealer epic, “American Gangster,” is on point to dominate the box office, according to pre-polling known as “tracking” and various industry sources.

The film stars Denzel Washington as real-life crime kingpin Frank Lucas -- presented in “Gangster” as a Mafia-style don who amassed a humongous fortune during the Vietnam War smuggling heroin from East Asia to the Eastern Seaboard in soldiers’ coffins -- and Russell Crowe as the embattled narc who braves widespread police departmental corruption to bring him down. Early intelligence indicates the movie has already gotten the attention of male viewers and action movie fans. But its box-office mojo may ultimately come from a broader part of the moviegoing population.

“The word around town is the film is tracking through the roof with urban audiences,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the movie tracking firm Media by Numbers. “And urban audiences hold tremendous clout at the box office.”

To be sure, the movie fits squarely into a tradition of classic gangster fare, such as “The Godfather” trilogy, “Goodfellas” and “Scarface,” that has become a cherished cultural touchstone in the hip-hop community -- movies that have been shouted out and lyrically venerated in numerous rap songs over the years. Toward that end, “Gangster” is getting an outside promotional push from rapper Jay-Z, one of the most dominant figures in hip-hop, who is releasing an album called “American Gangster,” inspired by the movie. In the last three weeks, he has kept busy proselytizing for both his CD and the film on rap radio, hip-hop websites, MTV and Black Entertainment Television.

According to Chuck Creekmur, chief executive of Allhiphop.com, the film has already been widely bootlegged -- one of the most accurate ways to gauge hype in hip-hop circles -- although the jury is still out on how much it could affect the film’s financial performance.

“As far as interest level goes, ‘American Gangster’ is incredibly high. It’s remarkable,” Creekmur said. “Everyone’s talking about it. It’s all over the Net. It’s all over the file-sharing websites. Everybody wants to see this movie.”

(In a strange life-imitating-art twist, one of “Gangster’s” supporting cast members, Atlanta rapper T.I., was arrested last month for allegedly possessing an arsenal of machine guns and two silencers.)

Several movie industry sources said “Gangster” is on track to take in $40 million in its opening weekend -- which would come as a considerable relief to Universal, which sank $30 million into an earlier incarnation of the film before shutting it down and resurrecting it later -- even with strong competition from the Jerry Seinfeld animated kid flick “Bee Movie.” That film has been tracking strongly with the family audience while racking up overwhelmingly positive early reviews. “These are two movies that could help us get out of the six-week downtrend at the box office,” Dergarabedian said.

A $40-million weekend would also represent both Washington’s and Crowe’s strongest opening to date. Last year, Washington established his personal best, $29 million, with Spike Lee’s thriller “Inside Man.” And none of Crowe’s films has opened to more than $35 million since “Gladiator” in 2000.

chris.lee@latimes.com