bourne legacy no.1 in canadian box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Action movie "The Bourne Legacy," with new star Jeremy Renner, raced to the No. 1 spot on U.S. and Canadian box office charts with an estimated $40.3 million in ticket sales over the weekend.

New adult comedy "The Campaign" debuted in second place, winning $27.4 million at domestic theaters. The two new movies knocked three-time box office champion "The Dark Knight Rises" to third place.
"Bourne Legacy" is the fourth movie in the spy franchise that previously starred Matt Damon and has grossed nearly $1 billion around the world. Damon played a CIA assassin with memory loss who tried to discover his true identity while evading the CIA's attempts to kill him.
Universal cast Renner in the new movie in an effort to reboot the series for future sequels. Renner plays agent Aaron Cross, who tries to escape his CIA pursuers with the help of genetic scientist Marta Shearing, played by Rachel Weisz.
Universal and privately held Relativity Media produced "Bourne Legacy" for about $125 million. Opening weekend sales beat Universal's projections for a $35 million debut.
Nikki Rocco, Universal Pictures' president of domestic distribution, said the film performed as expected, and that the studio was happy with its opening weekend.
"It's a validation, it's a successful rebooting of the franchise," she said, adding that it gives Universal an opportunity to continue the Bourne saga.
"The Bourne Legacy" nabbed $48.1 million worldwide over the weekend, bringing its global total to $88.4 million.
"The Campaign" also exceeded pre-weekend forecasts, which had the film debuting with around $20 million. The movie stars Will Ferrell and Zack Galifianakis as two candidates facing off against each other in a race for U.S. Congress.
Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros., said the political comedy played especially well in Washington and Boston as the U.S. presidential campaign gets into full swing.
"We think that the real campaign will add to our 'Campaign'," he said.
"Dark Knight Rises," the final movie in a Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale, took in $19.5 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters over the weekend. The blockbuster has grossed over $390 million in the U.S. and Canada since its July 20 debut.
"Hope Springs," a new romantic comedy/drama, finished the weekend in the No. 4 spot with $15.6 million. The film stars Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as an aging couple trying to bring a spark back to their marriage.
"Hope DOES spring," said Rory Bruer, president of distribution at Sony, who expects the film to continue to play well among older audiences.
In fifth place, family film "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" earned $8.2 million during its second weekend in theaters.
Despite doing well overseas, science-fiction reboot "Total Recall" took in a meager $8.1 million its second weekend, taking a tumble from its tepid $26 million opening.
Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures released "Bourne Legacy." "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Campaign" were distributed by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.. Sony Corp's film studio released "Hope Springs," and News Corp's 20th Century Fox studio distributed "Diary of a Wimpy Kid."

bourne producer says manila scene is the best

Universal Pictures, Mary Cybulski - This film image released by Universal Pictures shows Rachel Weisz as Dr. Marta Shearing, left, and Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross in a scene from "The Bourne Legacy." (AP Photo/Universal …more  Pictures, Mary Cybulski)

“Bourne Legacy” producer Patrick Crowley said the Philippines will be joining “Moscow, Paris, Prague, London, New York City, Madrid, Tangier and Berlin as the new thrill ride on the billion-dollar “Bourne” roller coaster.

“Millions and millions of fans worldwide will be rocketed through San Andres, raced through the Pasay Metro Rail Station, careened down Magsaysay Boulevard, and stopped very quickly at the end of the ride in Navotas Fish Port,” he shared at the red carpet screening of the film last August 5 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila.
 
Best of the franchise

Crowley, who produced all four “Bourne” movies, is proud of its latest installment, particularly the chase sequence filmed in the streets of Manila.

“The movie you’re about to see is being talked about as better than the first three, and the Manila chase as one of the best chases ever.”

He explained that the Philippine shoot required  production people to bring an international team of action specialists, 30 containers of gear from Los Angeles, over 100 people from New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Paris and London; and hundreds of local technicians, drivers and assistants with some “with resumes that stretch back to “Apocalypse Now.”

Crowley also mentioned that for the film’s rooftop chase, they replaced 50 roofs in San Andres, Manila and spent a lot of time working with MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) and other local officials in planning traffic diversions for the motorcycle chase.
 
Asian premiere

The August 5 screening is three days ahead of the film’s release in Manila on August 8 and five days in advance of the US premiere.  Crowley explained that the special screening is the production’s way of paying Manila back.

“We felt an obligation to pay back to the people who let us have control of the city for two months. We created huge traffic jams and all of the problems that come from making a good movie,” he said.

Crowley added that this is the only special screening in one of the countries the latest “Bourne” installment was shot in. It is also the film’s Asian premiere.

Will they make more movies in the Philippines after “Bourne”?

“If there is a script that happens to be set in the Philippines or a script that is set somewhere else and would be easier, better to do in the Philippines then we would suggest it, because we really did have a successful experience here,” Crowley replied.

bourne legacy movie review

Movie Info

The narrative architect behind the Bourne film series, Tony Gilroy, takes the helm in the next chapter of the hugely popular espionage franchise that has earned almost $1 billion at the global box office: The Bourne Legacy. The writer/director expands the Bourne universe created by Robert Ludlum with an original story that introduces us to a new hero (Jeremy Renner) whose life-or-death stakes have been triggered by the events of the first three films. For The Bourne Legacy, Renner joins fellow series newcomers Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach and Oscar Isaac, while franchise veterans Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Scott Glenn reprise their roles. -- (C) Universal

________________________________________________________________________________

personally I have not gone to see the movie myself but I think the movie is good. Rener is a good actor and they had the excellent choice in Rachel Weiz as the partner for Rener. Judging from the trailes it looks really good looks like there will be a lot of going on in the movie which is kind of  my taste for an action movie. Anyways here's some reviews from rottentomatoes.com for some ideas what you will be seeing in the movie but I may warn you there are some spoilers here so ready yourself for that.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_bourne_legacy/