Nine years after disappearing from the movie landscape, Jason Bourne [BORN5] returns reuniting Matt Damon [MDAMO] and director Paul Greengrass [PGREE]. The Bourne Ultimatum had seemingly concluded his story and capped off a trilogy with a $69.2 million debut. Wanting to extend the franchise, Universal tapped Jeremy Renner for The Bourne Legacy, which opened to a respectable $38.1 million in 2012. Damon’s presence should bring back some of the original fans, though the murky motivation for Jason Bourne’s reappearance may put off a portion of the audience. Mixed reviews from critics have only confirmed that the PG-13 rated film is an unnecessary sequel. Still, the fifth Bourne is tracking and selling advance tickets similar to the fifth Mission: Impossible, Rogue Nation which opened a year ago with $55.5 million. Playing in 4026 theaters, Jason Bourne should clear $55 million.
Star Trek Beyond [TREK3] felt the fans’ wrath over Into Darkness, but should have better word of mouth. As with most sequels this summer though, Star Trek Beyond looks to power down around 50% in its second weekend to $29 million.
Mila Kunis [MKUNI] and Kristen Bell [KBELL] lead the R-rated comedy Bad Moms [BMOMS]. Ticket presales are pacing ahead of Trainwreck which hit $30 million a year ago. However, Amy Schumer seems to have generated more buzz for Trainwreck than STX has for Bad Moms. Raging in 3215 theaters, Bad Moms may bring home $28 million.
Lionsgate targets millennials with the PG-13 rated thriller Nerve [NERVE]. After a better than expected take of $3.8 million on Wednesday, Nerve should collect another $11 million over the weekend from 2538 locations.
As for the other two sophomore releases, the animated Ice Age: Collision Course [ICEA5] is likely to hold slightly better than 50% for $11 million ,while the horror Lights Out [LITSO] do the opposite at worse than 50% for $10 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): BORN5, MDAMO, PGREE, TREK3, MKUNI, KBELL, BMOMS, NERVE, ICEA5, LITSO