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'Notorious' debuts at No. 4 at box office

"The King of New York" was no match for "The King of Queens" this weekend -- at least at the box office.

Former sitcom star Kevin James' "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" was the No. 1 movie, pulling in nearly $34 million. The biographical film about the life and death of Notorious B.I.G. made $21.5 million to finish in fourth place.

However, "Notorious" was No. 1 is a different category -- per screen average. The film pulled in an average of $13,126 in 1,638 theaters. By comparison, "Paul Blart" opened on 3,144 screens. It also was the biggest opening of all-time for Fox Searchlight, known for smaller critical successes like "Juno" and "Little Miss Sunshine."

"It's a very high quality film, and it's a compelling look at a compelling cultural icon who, like many cultural icons, left way too early but left an indelible mark on society," Chris Aronson, senior vice president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox told the Associated Press.

It was a good weekend for the film industry, as most of the week's new movies outperformed expectations. Experts said "Notorious" was able to cross over to fans outside of Biggie's fanbase and early estimates indicated that 40 percent of the audience was under 25.

Biggie's mom wants to talk to Lil' Kim

Voletta Wallace needs to get a few things straight with Lil' Kim, especially now that the Queen Bee has criticized how her relationship with the Notorious B.I.G. was shown on film.

"I would love to speak to Lil' Kim, because I need to ask more about this love relationship because I really didn't like the way he treated her and I'm praying that that's not it," Wallace told Essence. "Only she can answer those questions. She's a sweet girl and I didn't think she deserved to be treated the way he treated her, if that's the case."

However, from the interview it seemed that even Wallace wasn't sure about the authenticity of the portrayal in "Notorious," which opens Friday. "There were things about him that I never knew that I wanted to see for myself on film. I saw a side of my son that I heard of but I haven't accepted. I'm angered by certain things, disappointed and shocked."

Lil' Kim not happy with Faith or Biggie's mom

It's not a surprise that someone's not happy with the upcoming film about the Notorious B.I.G. It's even less a surprise that Lil' Kim is that one. After all, when does the other woman ever get her respect?

"I've had enough and I'm about to expose them both... I've been quiet for a long time," Lil' Kim told Hip-Hop Weekly. "I'm very disappointed in Faith. There's nothing Faith or Ms. Wallace could do to stop me from reppin' B.I.G. all day. I'm gonna always do that... It's time for Ms. Wallace to be exposed."

Faith took exception to the attack in the same article.

"As far as the film goes, I was neither a writer nor producer of the film. I really had nothing to do with it at all. Maybe she thinks that, but that's incorrect. It's Ms. Wallace's project," Faith told Hip-Hop Weekly.

Kim also is rumored to not be happy with the choice of 3LW's Naturi Naughton for her role in "Notorious," which she also felt incorrectly depicted her relationship with Biggie.

Naughton told Afro that she "studied her hard" for the role.

"I watched her in videos, stage performances, behind the scenes footage and listened to her voice in radio interviews. I also read a lot of material that the director gave me about Kim's backstory. It helped to understand her struggles as a child growing up in Brooklyn. I even went to Brooklyn and spent time in her neighborhood. Talking to the guys from Junior Mafia, especially Lil' Cease, helped me out a lot, too."

But when asked whether she knew if Kim had seen the movie, Naughton said she wasn't sure. "I don't know if she has seen the film, but hopefully when she does see it she will be proud of my portrayal."

Perhaps now we have our answer. "Notorious" will be released in theaters on Jan. 16.