The Bourne Ultimatum with Matt Damon: Major box office hit ahead of its two big-screen predecessors. Paul Greengrass directed from Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, and George Nolfi’s adaptation of Robert Ludlum’s 1990 novel. (Update: Matt Damon on Gilroy’s initial draft.)- The Bourne Ultimatum box office: As expected, Paul Greengrass’ thriller starring Matt Damon has turned out to be a major late summer hit. In fact, this third entry in the Bourne movie franchise has far surpassed the opening-weekend gross of its predecessors.
- Another Top Ten box office hit in the making: The Simpsons Movie, David Silverman’s well-received big-screen transfer of Matt Groening’s popular animated television series.
The Bourne Ultimatum box office: Reuniting Matt Damon & Paul Greengrass, third Bourne movie easily surpasses predecessors’ domestic launch
Aug. 3–5 weekend box office: With a hefty $69.3 million from 3,660 theaters, Universal Pictures’ The Bourne Ultimatum, which reunites Bourne franchise star Matt Damon with his The Bourne Supremacy director Paul Greengrass, was by far the top movie in North America (U.S. and Canada only) as per studio figures found at boxofficemojo.com.
Besides, inflation or no, The Bourne Ultimatum has easily surpassed the opening weekend take of its two predecessors: The Bourne Supremacy debuted with $52.5 million in late July 2004; the Doug Liman-directed The Bourne Identity debuted with $27.1 million in mid-June 2002.
In addition to Academy Award winner Matt Damon (in the Best Original Screenplay category for Good Will Hunting, 1997, which also earned him a Best Actor nod), The Bourne Ultimatum features Julia Stiles, Daniel Brühl, Edgar Ramírez, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, and Oscar nominees David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck, 2005), Joan Allen (The Contender, 2000; etc.), and Albert Finney (Tom Jones, 1963; etc.).
Director Paul Greengrass is also an Oscar nominee, for the real-life-based commercial flop United 93, which received numerous critical accolades last year.
Comparing the final box office take of the five Bourne movies
Update: The Paul Greengrass-Matt Damon thriller The Bourne Ultimatum ultimately took in $227.5 million domestically and $216.6 million internationally. Worldwide total: A highly profitable $444.1 million, which was to guarantee another sequel. Budget: $110 million (as always, not including marketing and distribution expenses).
Its top international markets were the United Kingdom/Ireland ($47 million), Australia ($19.1 million), Germany ($15.8 million), Japan ($15.2 million), Spain ($14.3 million), France ($13.1 million), and South Korea ($11.7 million).
For comparison’s sake (not adjusting for inflation/currency fluctuations): The Bourne Identity (2002) took in $121.7 million domestically and $92.4 million internationally. Worldwide total: $214 million. Budget: $60 million.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004) took in $176.2 million domestically and $114.6 million internationally. Worldwide total: $290.8 million. Budget: $75 million.
Directed by Tony Gilroy and starring Jeremy Renner, after opening below expectations The Bourne Legacy (2012) went on to collect $113.2 million domestically and, for the first time beating the U.S. and Canada gross, $162.9 million internationally. Worldwide total: $276.1 million – a solid figure, but hardly enough for the $125 million production to break even at the box office.
Reuniting Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon, Jason Bourne (2016) took in $162.4 million domestically and a far more impressive $253.1 million internationally. Worldwide total: $415.5 million. Budget: $120 million. This was another profitable venture, though less so than The Bourne Ultimatum, which remains the franchise’s most successful title.
The Simpsons Movie with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie.The Simpsons Movie likely on its way to Top Ten success
July 27–29 weekend box office: Embraced by critics and audiences alike, 20th Century Fox’s The Simpsons Movie – the studio’s $75 million big-screen adaptation of Matt Groening’s popular animated television series – was the no. 1 movie with a remarkable $74 million from 3,922 sites.
For comparison’s sake: David Yates’ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth movie in the Harry Potter movie franchise, debuted with $77.1 million two weekends ago. (This past weekend it was down to no. 3 with 17.7 million; the no. 2 title was Adam Sandler’s ‘gay’ comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, with $19.1 million.)
Directed by David Silverman, The Simpsons Movie features the voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Albert Brooks, Joe Mantegna, and, as himself, two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, 1993; Forrest Gump, 1994).
Update: The Simpsons Movie ultimately collected $183.1 million domestically – at no. 10 for the calendar year of 2007 – and a far more impressive $353.3 million internationally. Worldwide total: $536.4 million – the no. 8 global hit of the year and a hugely profitable one at that.
Its top international markets were the United Kingdom/Ireland ($78.4 million), Germany ($37.7 million), France ($29.7 million), Australia ($26.7 million), Spain ($26.3 million), Italy ($23.9 million), Mexico ($15.3 million), and Brazil ($9.5 million). (Japan’s Box Office Mojo figure, $372,000, is undoubtedly incomplete.)
“The Bourne Ultimatum Box Office” endnotes
Unless otherwise noted, “The Bourne Ultimatum Box Office: Matt Damon Thriller Surpasses Predecessors” box office information via Box Office Mojo. Budget info – which should be taken with a grain of salt – via BOM and/or other sources (e.g., the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Screen Daily, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline.com, etc.).
Comments about The Bourne Ultimatum, The Simpsons Movie, and other titles being hits/profitable or flops/money-losers at the box office (see paragraph below) are based on the available data about their production budget, additional marketing and distribution expenses (as a general rule of thumb, around 50 percent of the production cost), and worldwide gross (as a general rule of thumb when it comes to the Hollywood studios, around 50–55 percent of the domestic gross and 40 percent of the international gross goes to the distributing/producing companies).
Bear in mind that data regarding rebates, domestic/international sales/pre-sales, and other credits and/or contractual details that help to alleviate/split production costs and apportion revenues are oftentimes unavailable, and that reported international grosses may be incomplete (i.e., not every territory is fully – or even partially – accounted for).
Also bear in mind that ancillary revenues (domestic/global television rights, home video sales, streaming, merchandising, etc.) can represent anywhere between 40–70 percent of a movie’s total take. However, these revenues and their apportionment are only infrequently made public.
Matt Damon The Bourne Ultimatum movie image: Universal Pictures.
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie The Simpsons Movie image: 20th Century Fox.
“The Bourne Ultimatum Box Office: Matt Damon Thriller Surpasses Predecessors” last updated in October 2022.