The Bourne Legacy Ends Dark Knight Rises No. 1 Run

Action-packed reboot takes home $40.3 million in this weekend's box office

By Brandi Fowler Aug 12, 2012 5:58 PMTags
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The Dark Knight Rises' box office domination came to a close this weekend, courtesy of The Bourne Legacy, which nabbed the top spot at $40.3 million.

The box office numbers for the action-packed Bourne series reboot were below those of the last two Bourne movies, but still high enough for Universal execs to "breathe a sigh of relief" according to the Los Angeles Times, considering their risky new take on the series (which replaced Bourne star Matt Damon with Jeremy Renner).

Zack Galifianakis and Will Ferrell's The Campaign also fared well, knocking The Dark Knight Rises a little further down by grabbing the second spot at $27.4 million in its debut weekend. While the opening was a little weaker than expected, the political comedy still had a solid start, especially considering Warner Bros. spent "only" about $60 million to make it.

Dark Knight Rises landed in third this go-round with $19.5 million, down about 45 percent from last weekend, according to Box Office Mojo

Elsewhere, rom-com Hope Springs, starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, debuted in fourth with $15.6 million.

It was a less-than-stellar box office number for Streep who has had three straight wide-release openers of $20-million plus, but it wasn't a bad spot for the older-skewing comedy (which didn't have a particular brand behind it like Mamma Mia). 

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According to the Los Angeles Times, Streep's 2009 film Julia grossed about the same amount in its first three days, but went on to rake in $94.1 million.

Here's a complete look at the weekend's top movies, per Friday-Sunday domestic estimates as reported by the studios and BoxOfficeMojo.com stats:

1.  The Bourne Legacy, $40.3 million

2. The Campaign, $27.4 million

3. The Dark Knight Rises, $19.5 million

4. Hope Springs, $15.6 million

5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, $8.2 million

6. Total Recall, $8.1 million

7. Ice Age: Continental Drift, $6.8 million

8. Ted, $3.3 million

9. Step Up Revolution, $2.9 million

10. (Tie) The Watch & The Amazing Spider-Man $2.2 million