LOS ANGELES, Aug 13 — Action movie “The Bourne Legacy,” with new star Jeremy Renner, raced to the No. 1 spot on US and Canadian box office charts with an estimated US$40.3 million (RM126 million) in ticket sales over the weekend.

New adult comedy “The Campaign” debuted in second place, winning US$27.4 million at domestic theatres. The two new movies knocked three-time box office champion “The Dark Knight Rises” to third place.

Action movie "The Bourne Legacy" starring Jeremy Renner raced to the No. 1 spot on US and Canadian box office charts with an estimated US40.3 million in ticket sales over the weekend. — AFP pic“Bourne Legacy” is the fourth movie in the spy franchise that previously starred Matt Damon and has grossed nearly US$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 US$125 million. Opening weekend sales beat U n iversal’s projections for a US$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 US$48.1 million worldwide over the weekend, bringing its global total to US$88.4 million.

“The Campaign” also exceeded pre-weekend forecasts, which had the film debuting with around US$20 million. The movie stars Will Ferrell and Zack Galifianakis as two candidates facing off against each other in a race for US Congress.

Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros, said the political comedy played especially well in Washington and Boston as the US 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 US$19.5 million at North American (US and Canadian) theaters over the weekend. The blockbuster has grossed over US$390 million in the US and Canada since its July 20 debut.

“Hope Springs,” a new romantic comedy/drama, finished the weekend in the No. 4 spot with US$15.6 million. The film stars Merryl 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 US$8.2 million during its second weekend in theaters.

Despite doing well overseas, science-fiction reboot “Total Recall” took in a meager US$8.1 million its second weekend, taking a tumble from its tepid US$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.” — Reuters