"Bourne" grosses $70 million to top box office

"Bourne" grosses $70 million to top box office


The amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne is back, and this time he clobbered Homer Simpson.

"The Bourne Ultimatum," the third movie in the espionage action series starring Matt Damon as a one-time CIA hit man searching for his past, grossed $70.2 million its opening weekend to rank as North America's top film at the box office, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

That tally marks the biggest first weekend ever for a movie in the month of August, surpassing the $67.4 million opening posted by "Rush Hour 2" the same weekend in 2001, according to "Bourne" distributor Universal Pictures.

The latest "Bourne" total also far exceeded the debut ticket sales generated by the first two films in the franchise.

By comparison, "The Bourne Identity" opened at No. 2 with $27.1 million in June 2002, and the "The Bourne Supremacy" landed at No. 1 in July 2004 with $52.5 million.

Those two films went on to gross nearly $485 million worldwide combined.

Last week's domestic box office champion, "The Simpsons Movie," a feature-length version of the long-running TV cartoon, slipped to second place in its second weekend with $25.6 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales.

Despite its 65 percent dropoff from week to week, "The Simpsons," from 20th Century Fox, has now racked up about $128.6 million domestically.

Universal Pictures is a division of NBC Universal, which is controlled by General Electric Co., while News Corp. owns 20th Century Fox.


New 'Bourne' Set to Lead Weekend Box Office

LOS ANGELES - Jason Bourne, the amnesiac political assassin, should find himself in familiar territory atop the North American box office this weekend with The Bourne Ultimatum, the third film in the spy saga.

Although Hollywood also is fielding three other wide releases and two more modest platform launches, Bourne should outrun the competition and force the previous weekend's chart-topper, The Simpsons Movie, into second place.

Universal Pictures' Ultimatum, which takes the globe-trotting Bourne (Matt Damon) to Tangier and New York, looks poised to hit the high-$50 million range, possibly even pushing into $60 million territory.

The first film in the series, The Bourne Identity, opened to $27.1 million in 2002. The Bourne Supremacy bowed to $52.5 million three summers ago. Both Supremacy and Ultimatum were directed by Paul Greengrass.

20th Century Fox's Simpsons, which bowed last weekend to a resounding $74 million, will likely follow with a haul in the $33 million-$37 million range. The animated movie is expected to cross the century mark Friday.

In a bid for the family audience, Walt Disney Pictures is unleashing Underdog, a live-action version of the 1960s cartoon series about a canine superhero. It should open in the $11 million-$14 million range.

Paramount's Hot Rod, in which breakout Saturday Night Live star Andy Samberg makes his big-screen debut as an Evel Knievel wannabe, is expected to race off with about $7 million-$10 million.

And then there's Bratz: The Movie, a live-action tween comedy based on the popular doll line. Handicappers will be surprised if the Lionsgate release rises much higher than the $5 million mark in its first weekend.

Utilizing a more selective rollout, Picturehouse is raising the curtain on the musical drama El Cantante, a biopic about salsa singer Hector Lavoe starring Marc Anthony. Jennifer Lopez, who is married to Anthony, produced and also stars in the R-rated film, which should find favor among Latino audiences as it debuts in 542 theaters.

Miramax Films also will introduce Becoming Jane, a period romance in which Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) takes center stage. It will dance into 100 theaters.

On 25 screens, ThinkFilm is venturing out with the R-rated The Ten, a skit comedy built around outrageous infractions of the Ten Commandments.

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Synopsis:
All he wanted was to disappear; instead, Jason Bourne is now hunted by the people who made him what he is--legendary assassin. Having lost his memory and the one person he loved, he is undeterred by the barrage of bullets and a new generation of highly-trained killers. Bourne has only one objective: to go back to the beginning and find out who he was. Now, in the new chapter of this espionage series, Bourne will hunt down his past in order to find a future. He must travel from Moscow, Paris and London to Tangier and New York City as he continues his quest to find the real Jason Bourne--all the while trying to outmaneuver the scores of cops, federal officers and Interpol agents with him in their crosshairs.

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Synopsis:
Homer Simpson must save the world from a catastrophe he himself created. It all begins with Homer, his new pet pig, and a leaky silo full of droppings--a combination that triggers a disaster the likes of which Springfield has never experienced. As Marge is outraged by Homer’s monumental blunder, a vengeful mob descends on the Simpson household. The family makes a narrow escape, but is soon divided by both location and conflict. The Springfield citizenry has every reason to be out for Simpson blood. The calamity triggered by Homer has drawn the attention of U.S. President Arnold Schwarzenegger and Environmental Protection Agency head Russ Cargill. “You know sir,” Cargill tells the president, “when you made me head of the EPA, you were applauded for appointing one of the most successful men in America to the least successful agency in government. And why did I take the job? Because I’m a rich man who wanted to give something back. Not the money, but something.” That “something” is a devil’s plan to contain the disaster. As the fates of Springfield and the world hang in the balance, Homer embarks on a personal odyssey of redemption--seeking forgiveness from Marge, the reunion of his splintered family, and the salvation of his hometown.