‘The Bourne Legacy’ & ‘The Campaign’ Top The Box Office

Even without Matt Damon, Tony Gilroy’s The Bourne Legacy managed to easily top the box office with an estimated $40.3 million opening weekend. Expanding on the action-thriller series that previously starred Damon, this reboot of the Bourne franchise cost over $125 million to produce and features rising star Jeremy Renner in his first leading role.

Unsurprisingly, the film didn’t come close to match the $69 million debut from The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007 but this is nonetheless a solid performance enough to guarantee a follow up. The audience of The Bourne Legacy definitely skewed older with 69% over the age of 30. The film received a “B” CinemaScore and a mixed critical reception (53% on Rotten Tomatoes). Can we dare to dream of Matt Damon/Jeremy Renner collaboration down the road?

A duo of bumbling politicians took over second place as Jay Roach’s political comedy The Campaign claimed a solid $27.4 million during its opening frame. Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis star as political rivals fighting to represent their North Carolina district in Congress. The comedy received a B- CinemaScore and also had an older audience with with 64 percent over age 25.

Warner Bros’ The Dark Knight Rises dropped to third place after staying atop the box office for three consecutive weeks. This brings its domestic tally to $390.1 million which is nearly $50 million behind the pace of The Dark Knight at this point in time.

Finally, the romantic comedy Hope Springs” earned $15.6 million over the weekend. Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones star as a long-married couple who undergo a week of therapy to save their marriage. This is yet another movie who appealed to an older audience with 69% of viewers over the age of 40. Females made up 66% of the audience. The movie received a “B” CinemaScore.

Overall ticket sales continue to be sluggish. After a fantastic start to the year, box office sales are now only up 5% year-to-date compared to 2011.