Tucker, Chan Take Down Damon As 'Rush Hour 3' Topples 'Bourne' At Box Office
The Top Five
#1 "Rush Hour 3" ($50.2 million)
#2 "The Bourne Ultimatum" ($33.7 million)
#3 "The Simpsons Movie" ($11.1 million)
#4 "Stardust" ($9 million)
#5 "Underdog" ($6.5 million)
Hey, Chris Tucker -- "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?" Six years after "Rush Hour 2" bowed to a then-August record of $67.4 million, the third entry in your buddy-cop trilogy managed only 70 percent of that, winning the weekend with a healthy but somewhat disappointing $50.2 million.
We count "Rush Hour 3" as the sixth threequel of the summer (and those are among several sequels, a fourquel and a fivequel -- or should that be a quadquel and a pentaquel?), not one of which outperformed its predecessor at the domestic box office. The lone exception, perhaps, is Matt Damon's "The Bourne Ultimatum," which fell 50 percent this weekend to wind up in second place with $33.7 million. With a two-week haul of $132 million, "Ultimatum" is on pace to score more than "The Bourne Supremacy," which ended its domestic run at $176.2 million.
In third place, "The Simpsons Movie" continued to whip up strong numbers at the box office ("Mmm ... whip!") with a weekend gross of $11.1 million. Springfield's first family crossed the $150 million barrier in their third weekend.
"Transformers," meanwhile, crossed $300 million in its sixth weekend. To put that crazy figure in some kind of perspective: before 2007 there was never a single year where more than two movies earned more than $300 million. "Transformers" is now the fourth movie to do it in the last three months. Could it soon be joined by "Harry Potter"? The Boy Who Lived pulled in $5.4 million in his fifth week, bringing his new total to $272 million.
But while "Transformers" and "Phoenix" ascended, "Stardust" was a falling star at the box office, landing in fourth place with just $9 million. Starring Claire Danes, Sienna Miller and Robert De Niro, Neil Gaiman's fantasy adventure reportedly cost $70 million to make.
Speaking of falling stars, Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr.'s latest, "Daddy Day Camp," tanked. The Fred Savage-directed comedy (yes, Fred Savage!) debuted in 10th place with a measly $3.6 million, a paltry sum compared to the $27.6 million "Daddy Day Care" made in its 2003 opening weekend.
Expanding into 600 theaters, "Becoming Jane" made the biggest jump of any film this weekend, increasing its total by over 200 percent to earn $3 million in its second weekend. Another excuse -- and reader, we don't really need one -- to profess our undying adulation for star Anne Hathaway.
How'd We Do?
It may be a new year in our [article id="1566781"]projection booth[/article] calendar, but the results haven't changed one bit. MTV Movies Editor Josh Horowitz was the only one of our prognosticators to correctly pick "Rush Hour 3," and so scores our first point of the competition -- incidentally the same week Barry Bonds broke the all-time home-run record. Coincidence? Josh is so good, we think Larry Carroll and celebrity guest Will Forte should check his water for performance enhancers.
Prognosticator (Weeks Won)
Josh Horowitz, MTV Movies editor (1)
Larry Carroll, MTV News writer (0)
Celebrity guest (0)
Next Week
What's the funniest movie of the year? It's not "Knocked Up" or "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," but "Superbad," a riot-inducing film with Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. The raunchy comedy opens in 2,800 theaters next weekend. Also opening is "The Invasion," a remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig; "The King of Kong," a documentary about the world's top Donkey Kong players; and "Death at a Funeral," a black farce from director Frank Oz.
Check out everything we've got on "Rush Hour 3," "The Bourne Ultimatum," "The Simpsons Movie," and "Stardust."
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