'Bourne Legacy' and 'Campaign' take lead from 'Dark Knight Rises'

Arriving a month after The Dark Knight Rises, The Bourne Legacy relieved the Batman film of its number one spot with a $40.2 million opening. That's off 42% from the Matt Damon-starring Bourne Ultimatum. Hollywood so frequently relaunches franchises, it's easy to put that figure in context. X-Men: First Class suffered a 53% loss when it revved up again, while The Amazing Spider-Man had better luck, performing 30% off the previous incarnation of the franchise. That means The Bourne Legacy is right in the middle. Attendees gave the movie a so-so B rating in exit polls, which is partly attributed to the abrupt ending. I was one of the people who turned to my guest and said, "That's it?" in confusion, too, so I'm actually glad that other viewers didn't buy into the sudden ride off into the sunset either. I suspect this Bourne film will yield a sequel, but I think the production team will need to work a bit harder to close up those gaps in believability.

The Campaign overperformed to place second with $27.4 million. The Will Ferrell-Zach Galifianakis political comedy earned a 67% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is on the high side for Ferrell's comedies. His best-rated movies top out in the 70-80% range, and he's no stranger to the other side of the ratings spectrum either. THR reports that the comedy broadened its base beyond the typical under-25s that go for R-rated laughs. In Boston (Mitt Romney's home base) and Washington D.C., the feature performed well on Saturday, a time that usually sees drop-offs for this genre. The North Carolina-set comedy also played well in the South and the Midwest.

Hope Springs finished fourth with $15.6 million over the weekend, for a five-day total of $20 million. That's actually the same figure earned by Meryl Streep's 2009 feature Julie & Julia, which ended up earning just under $100 million. The audience was two-thirds female, with 69% of ticket buyers over the age of forty. Because Hope Springs isn't bringing in as broad of an audience, most doubt it will reach the same total as Julia & Julia, but the older moviegoers should ensure the film plays over a long period, since this demographic doesn't focus as much on seeing movies opening day.

Star/writer/director Julie Delpy's follow up to 2 Days in Paris, 2 Days in New York, averaged $13,500 per screen in two locations. Fantasy romance Ruby Sparks passed the $1 million mark by earning $453,000 in 261 locations.

Nitro Circus: The Movie totaled $1.1 million over the weekend and $2.1 million since it opened on Wednesday. At $1,100 per screen, the average theatre totals aren't so high. Could the movie have done better on fewer screens?

With just two weekends before Labor Day, when the box office takes a dive, studios are throwing in all their final summer films. On Wednesday, Disney releases the sentimental pic The Odd Life of Timothy Green. On Friday, The Expendables 2 will vie for the action-focused male audience, stop-motion animated Paranorman will attempt to scare adults and kids alike, and the late Whitney Houston will make her final cinematic appearance in Sparkle.