Bourne Legacy takes top spot, topples Dark Knight at US box office

The recently released Bourne Legacy has taken the top spot in the North American box...

16:17 15 August 2012

The recently released Bourne Legacy has taken the top spot in the North American box office chart, toppling former number one The Dark Knight Rises. 

 

The action film is the latest installment in the Bourne series. It features new frontman Jeremy Renner who takes the wheel from previous Bourne star Matt Damon.Female support comes in the form of Oscar winner Rachel Weisz. This is the first movie in the franchise that does not include Matt Damon. 

 

The studio estimates that the film took in $40.3m in its opening weekend alone. While it may not have broke the record of $69.3 million set by Damon’s final film, the Bourne Ultimatum, the excellent audience response is a major achievement for a fourth installment with a new lead. 

 

The Bourne Ultimatum was released back in 2007. The Bourne Legacy picks up where the previous film left off, this time focused on Renner, who plays an agent that is being pursued by Jason Bourne’s old spymasters. 

 

The previous number one in this year’s box office in the US is the last Batman installment The Dark Knight Rises, which dropped to third place. The number two spot is occupied by The Campaign, a political comedy featuring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis who play the roles of two US congressional election rivals.