There was no question who would take the weekend. It was Jason Bourne‘s for the picking, and the Universal picture delivered as it was expected. The action sequel, the third directed by Paul Greengrass and the fourth to star Matt Damon, came in number one and earned a solid $60 million, making it one of the best releases of the summer — at least financially — and one of the few films to beat its predecessor of late, almost earning twice as much as The Bourne Legacy‘s $38.1 million debut. The studio should certainly be pleased.
Jason Bourne didn’t top Damon’s last spin as the titular character, as 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum opened with $69 million. But it’s, nevertheless, the second-best opening Damon has had in his career. Even if the film didn’t quite rise to the quality of the past installments (read my review here to hear me elaborate on that), it’s easy to see why the actor/producer came back to the part. With a $120 million budget, not including marketing, it’s already halfway into the black and it shouldn’t have any trouble earning a profit. Don’t be surprised to see more Bourne movies with Damon in the future, if they can convince him to come back again.
Also impressing this weekend was Bad Moms, the newest comedy written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the screenwriters behind the original The Hangover, which earned a better-than-expected $23.4 million in third place. With a budget of $20 million, this one is already a hit for STX Entertainment, the Chinese studio who has struggled to make their way into the business after disappointments like Hardcore Henry and straight-up bombs like Free State of Jones earlier this year. This is unquestionably their best showing to date.
I missed my screening to see Shrek: The Musical last Thursday, and I’m not disappointed with that decision. But reviews were kinder-than-anticipated for the raunchy comedy, and it seems to fill the same sweet spot made by female-driven comedies like Spy and Trainwreck last summer, as well as Ghostbusters earlier this summer, which came in seventh place this weekend with $9.8 million. Perhaps I’ll check out Bad Moms at some point down the road.
One that I’m also interested to see at some point is Star Trek Beyond, last week’s number one placeholder, which came in second place this weekend with a flat $24 million. This puts its domestic gross above $100 million with $105.7 million in its coin purse, as it continues on its way to make back its $185 million budget. The sci-fi blockbuster seems to be meeting expectations, which is more than what can be said for a few other films this summer. Like I said, I hope to add a little extra change to its gross soon when I get the chance to see it for myself.
A movie I did see, however, and enjoyed a surprising bit was Nerve, the other new release this week, which came in eighth place with $9 million. Released on Wednesday, that brings its total up to $15 million and, with a budget under $20 million, it should be doing just fine. Also holding their own are The Secret Life of Pets in fourth place with $18.2 million added to its incredible $296.2 million domestic gross and Lights Out in fifth place with an extra $10 million accumulated to its $42.9 million domestic gross (it only cost $5 million to make).
Meanwhile, Ice Age: Collision Course continues to disappoint, at least in the U.S., with a measly $10.5 million in its second weekend, making its domestic gross an underwhelming $42.9 million thus far. This is doubly disappointing for Blue Sky Studios, as animated family films have reigned king in an otherwise disappointing summer — especially with the aforementioned The Secret Life of Pets and Pixar’s Finding Dory, which came in ninth place over the weekend with $4.2 million added to its staggering $469 million domestic gross.
Finally, Dinesh D’Souza’s slanderous documentary Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party got knocked out of the top ten behind The Legend of Tarzan‘s fifth weekend, but it came in eleventh place with $2.3 million, which makes its domestic gross $8.7 million thus far. It’s the highest grossing documentary of the year, whether I like it or not. Additionally, Woody Allen’s charming Cafe Society is working its way up as it enters more theaters. It came in twelfth place with $2.3 million, making its domestic gross $3.9 million at the moment.
Check out the list below, courtesy of THR and Box Office Mojo.
- Jason Bourne Weekend: $60 million Domestic Gross: $60 million
- Star Trek Beyond Weekend: $24 million Domestic Gross: $105.7 million
- Bad Moms Weekend: $23.4 million Domestic Gross: $23.4 million
- The Secret Life of Pets Weekend: $18.2 million Domestic Gross: $296.2 million
- Lights Out Weekend: $10.8 million Domestic Gross: $42.9 million
- Ice Age: Collision Course Weekend: $10.5 million Domestic Gross: $42.1 million
- Ghostbusters Weekend: $9.8 million Domestic Gross: $106.1 million
- Nerve Weekend: $9 million Domestic Gross: $15.1 million
- Finding Dory Weekend: $4.2 million Domestic Gross: $469 million
- The Legend of Tarzan Weekend: $2.4 million Domestic Gross: $121.9 million
