B.O. Report: "Bourne" again

Yikes: $70 million for the third Jason Bourne movie. "The Bourne Ultimatum," starring smilin' Matt Damon, kicked butt at 5,200 multiplex screens in spite of shake-rattle-and-roll cinematography that apparently puts some moviegoers off their Junior Mints. Why is this series one of the very few to actually increase its weekend box office from installment to installment? "The Bourne Identity" opened with $27 million in 2002, "The Bourne Supremacy" kicked in with $52.5 million in 2004, and the third film tops both -- although it should be pointed out that "Supremacy" opened in fewer theaters. Still, "Ultimatum" had a stronger per-theater-average ($19,175k vs $16,594k for "Supremacy.")

Two reasons for the continual upgrade: Matt Damon and quality control. Damon has become that very rare movie star who audiences instinctively trust. He's not lovable (except in the "Oceans" movies), he's not a show-off (like Ben), he just plugs along doing thoughtful, smart work in film after film. Similarly, the scripts and direction for the "Bourne" series are consistently a notch above, and they always manage to stay two steps ahead of us. They're thinking-moviegoers' action films for mass audiences -- a neat trick, that.

"Underdog" squeezed out a passable $12 million, but "Hot Rod" ($5 million) and "Bratz" ($4 million) died a-borning. Salsa biopic "El Cantante" is getting burned off in suburban theaters by its distributor, made a fair $3 million. Miramax's Jane Austen film "Becoming Jane" made a proper $10k per theater at 100 houses, will roll out further in the coming weeks.

More box office fiddling from Box Office Mojo and Leonard Klady.