Matt Damon set a
new opening weekend record for the month of August with the top spot bow of
The Bourne Ultimatum,
the third installment in the actor’s signature spy series. The frame’s other new
releases saw more modest openings while most holdovers held up well. The wide
assortment of popular hits allowed the North American box office to soar to the
highest grossing August weekend in history.
Racing past expectations, Universal’s
The Bourne Ultimatum
scored a spectacular opening grossing an estimated $70.2M in its first weekend
in theaters. Infiltrating 3,660 locations, the PG-13 film averaged a muscular
$19,175 per venue and beat out the $52.5M bow of its predecessor
The Bourne Supremacy
by a healthy 34%. That action entry launched in July 2004 and went on to gross
$176.1M. The new entry was also directed by
Paul Greengrass
and co-starred Julia
Stiles and Joan Allen.
The eye-popping debut set a new benchmark for the month of August edging out
previous record-holder
Rush Hour 2 which bowed to $67.4M in 2001. That franchise’s next installment
Rush Hour 3 plans to
exact revenge when it opens this Friday gunning for the number one spot.
Ultimatum also generated the second largest opening weekend in studio history
for Universal trailing only
The Lost
World which collected $72.1M over the Friday-to-Sunday portion of its
holiday debut in May 1997 during what was then the biggest opening weekend of
all time.
Matt Damon proved once
again how popular and relevant his Jason Bourne character is to today’s
audiences.
Ultimatum also earned the best reviews of any action picture this
year so even though it was the summer’s eleventh sequel and fifth threequel, the
film still played out as an event picture for movie fans. The opening was even
bigger than any debut in the James Bond or
Mission: Impossible franchises.
Openings for last year’s newest chapters for those spy sagas were $47.7M for
Mission:
Impossible III in May and $40.8M for November’s
Casino Royale.
If the estimate holds for The Bourne Ultimatum, it will become the fourth film
in five weeks to open north of $70M following
Transformers,
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and
The Simpsons Movie.
The string of big hits set the July box office ablaze and has now spilled over
into the final month of summer which should continue the fireworks. Plus most
films have been holding up well over the last few weeks. Of the 37 holdover
cases in the top ten during the last five weekends, only four have witnessed
declines of more than 50%. By comparison, nine had such drops over the same
five-week period a year ago.
Last weekend’s top film
The Simpsons Movie
was the only pic in the top ten to take a big tumble dropping 65% in its
sophomore weekend to finish in second place with an estimated $25.6M. That gave
the Fox blockbuster a robust total of $128.6M in only ten days of release. The
$75M production might find its way to the neighborhood of $190M domestically.
Overseas, Comic Book Guy and pals grossed another $47.3M shooting the
international total to $187M from 75 territories for a sensational global gross
of $315.5M and counting.
Disney launched its canine pic
Underdog in third
place with a respectable opening of $12M, according to estimates, from 3,013
theaters. The PG-rated family film averaged a decent $3,986 per venue and tried
to take advantage of a marketplace lacking choices for younger kids.
Adam Sandler’s
latest comedy
I
Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry dropped 45% in its third weekend to an
estimated $10.5M for Universal. The musical
Hairspray, also in
its third frame, dipped 41% to an estimated $9.3M for New Line. Totals to date
stand at $91.7M and $79.1M, respectively.
The megablockbuster
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix grossed an estimated $9.3M,
off 48%, boosting the total to $260.8M. That puts the fifth Hogwarts tale at
number 37 on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters after 2004’s
The Incredibles
which banked $261.4M. Overseas, Phoenix posted an estimated $25.2M to
lift the international tally to a towering $509.7M. With a worldwide gross of
$771M, the latest wizard flick is now the third biggest global blockbuster of
2007 after
Pirates of
the Caribbean: At World’s End ($952M) and
Spider-Man 3
($889M).
The Catherine
Zeta-Jones drama
No Reservations
followed in seventh place with an estimated $6.6M in its sophomore session. Down
a reasonable 44%, the Warner Bros. release has cooked up $24.2M in ten days and
looks headed for a respectable $45M final.
With a one-way ticket to the triple-century club,
Transformers
took in an estimated $6M, down 49%, to lift its stellar cume to $296.3M. The
Michael Bay smash now
sits at number 26 on the all-time domestic list after
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl which grossed $305.4M
in 2003.
For the second straight weekend, a pair of flops aimed at teens opened in the
number nine and ten spots with averages of less than $3,000. Paramount’s
Andy Samberg
comedy Hot Rod
debuted to an estimated $5M from 2,607 theaters for a dismal $1,924 average.
Lionsgate grossed an estimated $4.3M for its new preteen pic
Bratz resulting
in a mild $2,856 average from 1,509 playdates.
Jennifer Lopez and
Marc Anthony
teamed up for the biopic
El Cantante which
debuted well in a limited national bow with an estimated $3.3M from 542 theaters
for a solid $6,004 average. The Picturehouse release about the life of Salsa
pioneer Hector Lavoe earned lackluster reviews from critics. Receiving better
notices was the period drama
Becoming Jane
which bowed in only 100 theaters to an estimated $1M for a strong $10,100
average. Starring Anne
Hathaway as Jane Austen, the Miramax title expands to more markets in the
weeks ahead.
Four films fell from the top ten over the weekend. The animated comedy
Ratatouille from
Disney and Pixar dropped by 46% in its sixth frame to an estimated $4M boosting
the cume to $188.3M. Though loved by critics, the rodent picture has not been
living up to Pixar standards and should end its domestic run right around the
$200M mark making it the company’s lowest-grossing hit since 1998’s A Bug’s Life
which took in $162.8M.
Fox’s action sequel
Live Free or
Die Hard shot up an estimated $2.2M, tumbling 61%, and put its total at
$130.2M. A domestic final of about $135M seems likely while the pic’s global
gross of $309M will continue to climb rapidly over the course of the summer.
Also suffering sharp declines were the sophomores
I Know Who
Killed Me and
Who’s Your Caddy?
which collected $1.2M and $1.1M, respectively. Lindsay Lohan’s latest box office
underachiever crumbled 67% and has taken in just $6.2M in ten days with a
pathetic $8M final likely. The golf comedy fell 60% to a ten-day cume of only
$4.8M and looks to end its run with a measly $7M.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $158.8M which was up a solid 37% from
last year when
Talladega Nights opened at number one with $47M; and up a remarkable 62%
from 2005 when
The Dukes of Hazzard debuted in the top spot with $30.7M.
Source: Box Office Guru
