By Ryan Parsons | Images property of Universal Pictures.
The Bourne Ultimatum
Has anyone else ever noticed how concise brackets have become for awards, medals and records? Take baseball for instance, where a player can enter the hall of fame under the bracket of, "Most hits by a left-handed outfielder with blonde hair and a medium-length mullet." Ridiculous! Okay, okay, that is not actually a bracket, but give it five years. The same goes for film, and Universal Pictures is one of the few to claim that their film, The Bourne Ultimatum, took a box office record that requires less than five words to explain it.
Biggest August with The Bourne Ultimatum
It is hard to say whether it was the franchise's strong following or the good press from the critics, but The Bourne Ultimatum took in a whopping $70 million over the weekend, earning the record of best August opening.
The third Bourne installment helped this summer's box office receipts continue to surge with numbers up 35% over last year.
The Simpsons Movie had a hand in boosting the numbers, thanks to its $25.6 million take during its second weekend. Though down 65% from its opening, the CG-less animation has still managed to pull in $315.5 million worldwide in its first ten days.
I expected better from Disney's Underdog, which scored only $12 million during its opening bow. I mean, come on, Sky High did better than that, and it wasn't nearly as marketed.
An even bigger failure came with Paramount's stunt known as Hot Rod. Though I credit Andy Samberg for helping save SNL, his face wasn't enough to bring in those who have never heard of 'Digital Short.' The film took the #9 spot with $5 million.
To finish on an honorable mention, Paramount was left with something positive, as Transformers is poised to become the fourth tentpole this summer to cross the $300 million mark.
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