It lived up to neither the box office standard set by “The Bourne Supremacy” or “The Bourne Ultimatum,” but new release “The Bourne Legacy,” the first in the franchise not to star Matt Damon, easily claimed a box office victory in its debut.
“Legacy” grossed $40.3 million for the weekend, topping its nearest competitor (“The Campaign”) by about $13 million and pre-release projections by $5-10 million.
“The Campaign” was far from a slam-dunk opener for stars Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, but with $27.4 million in receipts, it still kicked off slightly above pre-release forecasts. It also pushed holdover champ “The Dark Knight Rises” down to third place; the Batman film earned $19.5 million.
As of press time, “The Dark Knight Rises” has accumulated 390.1 million in domestic box office dollars, which now puts it convincingly behind the “The Dark Knight” trajectory. That predecessor film had earned $441.6 million after four weeks. “The Avengers,” meanwhile, had advanced to $513.4 million.
“Hope Springs” tapped into star Meryl Streep’s reliable drawing card for $15.6 million in its first weekend, while “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” completed the top five with $8.2 million.