We have a new leader at the box office. The Bourne Legacy enjoyed at $40.2 million debut over the weekend, easily out earning The Dark Knight Rises. The success of the Bourne film, the fourth in the franchise, bodes well for yet another addition to the popular series.
“I love the fact that we were able to reboot this and do as well as we were able to,” said Nikki Rocco, Universal’s head of distribution. “It leaves it open for us to think about it going forward. We are very much into what it’s going to look like the next time.”
The Bourne Legacy lacks Matt Damon, but stars Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Joan Allen, and Albert Finney.
Next up is The Campaign, a political comedy starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. The film earned $27.4 million its opening weekend, pushing The Dark Knight Rises to number three. Jason Sudeikis, Katherine LaNasa, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, and Brian Cox also star in the comedy. The Dark Knight Rises brought in an additional $19.5 million over the weekend, bringing its total gross earnings to $390 million.
Fourth place goes to new release Hope Springs which earned $15.6 million. Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steve Carell star in the romantic comedy about an older couple trying to spice up their relationship.
Last week’s third and second place films, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days and Total Recall, fell to fifth and sixth place with respective earnings of $8.2 and $8.1 million. Ice Age: Continental Drift sank to number seven with earnings of $6.7 million.
Ted, the Seth MacFarlane comedy about a crude teddy bear, earned $3.2 million over the weekend, bringing its seven-week earnings to $209 million. Dance flick Step Up Revolution comes in at number nine with a box office take of $2.8 million.
Right now, The Watch and The Amazing Spider-Man are tied for tenth place with both films earning around $2.2 million. These figures are studio estimates, so it’s unclear which film is truly the tenth place winner.
Next week’s top ten list will be all shaken up, thanks to the four new films opening in theaters over the weekend. Check back next week to see how The Expendables 2, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, ParaNorman, and Sparkle measure up.
Box Office Mojo
Photo: The Bourne Legacy