 Damon plays a former CIA hitman who remains haunted by his past |
The Bourne Ultimatum, the third in Matt Damon's espionage series, has topped the North American movie chart and is the biggest August opening for a film. It generated $70.2m (�34.4m) between Friday and Sunday.
The Bourne Identity earned $27.1m in the US and Canada in 2002, while 2004's The Bourne Supremacy took $52.5m.
Last week's number one - The Simpsons Movie - fell one place, but separate figures showed it was the most popular film at the international box office.
The feature-length version of the popular TV show earned $25.6m (�12.5m) in North America in its second week of release.
 | NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE 1. The Bourne Ultimatum ($70.2m) 2. The Simpsons Movie ($25.6m, above) 3. Underdog ($12m) 4. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry ($10.5m) 5. Hairspray ($9.3m) 6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ($9.3m) 7. No Reservations ($6.6m) 8. Transformers ($6m) 9. Hot Rod ($5m) 10. Bratz: The Movie ($4.3m) Estimated figures for Fri-Sun. Source: Media By Numbers |
There was a new entry at number three for Underdog, Disney's live-action comedy about a canine superhero. Former chart-topper I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - a comedy starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James - fell to fourth.
And the latest big-screen version of Broadway musical Hairspray was down one place to complete this week's top five.
Further down the list were new entries for Hot Rod, starring Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live, at nine, and children's comedy Bratz: The Movie, at 10.
"We're really riding high today," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution at Universal Pictures, in reaction to The Bourne Ultimatum's success.
"The reviews and audiences rated this one the best one yet," she told the Associated Press, adding that Matt Damon was "the new James Bond".
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
