Box Office: Matt Damon’s ‘Jason Bourne’ Rules with $61 Million
Matt Damon’s “Jason Bourne” is dominating moviegoing with an estimated $61 million opening weekend at the domestic box office.
That’s more than double its closest rival, raunchy comedy “Bad Moms” with about $27 million and as much as $30 million at 3,215 locations.
Universal’s fifth film in its sturdy Bourne franchise is performing well above forecasts with an opening day taking in about $23 million at 4,026 sites. STX’s “Bad Moms” grossed $9.6 million on Friday at 3,215 locations.
Lionsgate’s thriller “Nerve,” which opened Wednesday, took in $3.2 million on Friday at 2,538 theaters for a weekend of up to $9 million and a five-day total of about $15 million.
“Jason Bourne” is Damon’s fourth film as a former CIA assassin dealing with memory loss. The franchise launched with 2002’s “The Bourne Identity,” followed by 2004’s “The Bourne Supremacy” and 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum.” Damon did not appear in 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy,” which starred Jeremy Renner.
“Jason Bourne” will post the second-best launch of the five films. “The Bourne Ultimatum” opened domestically with $69.3 million in 2007 on its way to a $227.4 million total.
Paul Greengrass directs “Jason Bourne,” which also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Julia Stiles, and Riz Ahmed. The action-packed film, which carries a $120 million price tag, is set in Athens, Berlin, London and Las Vegas with the Vikander and Cassel characters in constant pursuit.
Should the estimates hold, “Jason Bourne” will finish above Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” which opened with $55.5 million over the same weekend last year. It will easily top “The Bourne Legacy,” which debuted to $38 million in 2012.
The four Bourne films have grossed a worldwide total of $1.17 billion — $638 million domestically and $583 million internationally. Universal is releasing “Jason Bourne” in 46 international markets this weekend. The international opening weekend estimate for “Jason Bourne” would be the largest in franchise history at $49 million. Combining domestic and foreign box office numbers, the film’s estimated opening weekend total is $110 million.
Recent forecasts had projected that “Bad Moms” with a $22 million launch. Given its economical $20 million price tag, “Moms” represents a much-needed positive for two-year-old STX in the wake of unimpressive performance from Matthew McConaughey’s “Free State of Jones.”
“Bad Moms” stars Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn as mothers who have tired of the pressure to be the perfect mom. “The Hangover” scripting team of Jon Lucas and Scott Moore wrote and directed the film.
“Bad Moms” is clearly topping last weekend’s leader, Paramount’s “Star Trek Beyond,” which is falling 60% to wind up the weekend with about $24 million at 3,928 sites. The 13th film in the franchise will finish the weekend with about $104 million domestically in its first 10 days.
Illumination-Universal’s fourth weekend of its hit “The Secret Life of Pets” will finish fourth with about $18 million, lifting its 24-day total to $296 million — the seventh-highest domestic mark of 2016.
Lionsgate’s “Nerve,” starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, is in a battle for fifth with a trio of holdovers — the second weekends of Fox’s “Ice Age Collision Course” and New Line’s “Lights Out” and Sony’s third frame of “Ghostbusters.” “Lights Out” will likely lead with around $11 million.
Disney’s seventh weekend of “Finding Dory” is due to come in ninth with around $5 million, lifting its 45-day domestic total to nearly $470 million. That’s the top total for 2016, leading “Captain America: Civil War” by $65 million, and the eighth highest of all time.
The summer box office will receive a major jolt next weekend with the much-anticipated debut of Warner Bros.’ “Suicide Squad” expected to take in as much as $125 million in its first three days.
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