Box Office: 'Bourne Legacy' dethrones 'Dark Knight Rises' with $40.2 million

Jeremy Renner in stunt-mode for "The Bourne Legacy."

Credit: Universal Pictures

At first, it seemed as though audiences were eager to enjoy any "Bourne" flick even if Matt Damon wasn't in the mix.  That might not be the case.

"The Bourne Legacy" succeeded in knocking "The Dark Knight Rises" from the top of the box office chart with $40.2 million for the weekend.  But, after a $15 million Friday, the estimate for "Legacy" dropped from what traditionally would have been a $45 million plus take. Either bad word of mouth or audience realization that Matt Damon doesn't appear in the picture whatsoever appears to have affected the gross.  The last two "Bourne" films debuted with $69.2 million and $52.5 million respectively and Universal Pictures would have been more than happy with a $45 million take, but this win has to be disconcerting.

Opening in the second slot was the Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis comedy "The Campaign" with $27.4 million.  That's in the range of a successful Ferrell comedy opening considering the "Bourne" and "Rises" competition.  "The Other Guys" debuted to $35 million against the fourth week of "Inception" in 2010 and "Step Brothers" found $30 million opposite "The Dark Knight's" second weekend in 2008.  

In its first fourth weekend, "Rises" fell to third with $19.5 million and $390.1 million to date. The final installment in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy should pass $400 million next weekend. It's looking at a final tally between $440-460 million when all is said and done.

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" found fourth with another $8.2 million and $30.5 million in just 10 days.  Another 20th Century Fox release, "Ice Age: Continental Drift," grossed another $6.7 million and reached $144 million domestically. 

New films opening this Friday include "The Expendables 2," "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," "ParaNorman" and "Sparkle."

Final box office tallies are released on Monday.

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

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With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.