Numbers are already being revised down from those early box office estimates that hit the web yesterday as Friday’s results show a much bleaker picture for America’s top movie: The Bourne Legacy. The fourth installment of the Bourne saga hit theaters yesterday and it definitely looked like a sure fire bet to breach $40 million for the weekend. Now, Hollywood is not so sure as its Friday take came in at $14 million as opposed to the $18 million that the industry initially anticipated.
While that is still good enough for number one, it is going to make a $45+ million weekend nearly impossible baring some sort of miracle. As to what exact happened, nobody knows for sure even though speculation has the Olympics possibly impacting these figures once primetime hit.
On the other end of the genre spectrum, The Campaign debuted in its R-rated comedy glory. The Will Ferrell/Zach Galifianakis combo proved potent enough to rack up the ticket sales as the Jay Roach-directed effort found $10.3 million on its opening day–more than originally anticipated. This is still down from Ferrell’s most recent comedic offerings of Step Brothers and The Other Guys which found over $11 million and $13 million respectively in their first 24 hours.
The Dark Knight Rises will more than likely end up below the duo for the weekend as its take on August 10 was just under $6 million. The domestic total now stands at $376 million with a global haul nearing $800 million.
The third opening of the weekend was for a far different and smaller audience via Hope Springs. This was a romantic dramedy that had Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones seeking marriage counseling from Steve Carell. The result? $4.7 million on its first Friday. The movie opened on Wednesday to a pair of $2+ million days, bringing its total haul above $9 million. Streep’s movies tend to float for a long time so this is considered a huge success as her average opening weekend is between 15-20% of the entire domestic gross.
Related:
Reviewers Accept Jeremy Renner As Matt Damon’s Replacement in ‘Bourne Legacy’
Critics Suggest ‘The Campaign’ May Be One Of Will Ferrell’s Best Movies
Critics Love Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones in ‘Hope Springs’