This film image released by Universal Pictures shows Rachel Weisz as Dr. Marta Shearing, left, and Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross in a scene from “The Bourne Legacy.” AP/Universal Pictures, Mary Cybulski
LOS ANGELES – “The Bourne Legacy,” the latest installment in the popular action series, dethroned the new Batman film to take the top spot in the North American box office, industry figures showed Monday.
The fourth Bourne thriller – starring Jeremy Renner as a secret agent threatened by his employers, and not Matt Damon as Jason Bourne – raked in $38.1 million in its opening weekend, movie tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
Another new release, the political spoof “The Campaign” starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, brought in $26.6 million – good enough for second place in the weekend rankings.
“The Dark Knight Rises,” the final installment of the Batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan, fell to third place with $19 million, after topping the chart each week since it opened last month.
The film, starring Christian Bale, has already pulled in nearly $389.6 million in domestic box office sales, despite the mass shooting at an opening night screening in Colorado that left 12 dead and 58 wounded.
A new romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, “Hope Springs,” about a married couple trying to get back their spark, came in fourth place with $14.7 million.
In fifth place, science-fiction action remake “Total Recall,” with $8.01 million in ticket sales, narrowly beat out teen comedy “Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” at $8 million.
“Ice Age: Continental Drift,” the fourth installment of a popular animated series, took in $6.4 million for seventh place – about double the earnings of raunchy comedy “Ted” starring Mark Wahlberg, in eighth place at $3.2 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were dance flick “Step Up: Revolution” at $2.9 million, and “The Watch” starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn as part of a neighborhood watch team fighting off an alien invasion, at $2.2 million.