Matt Damon isn’t winning universal praise for returning to “Jason Bourne,” nor is director Paul Greengrass. Weak reviews won’t give a boost to the spy who fears his government franchise.
But it won’t need reviews to make money.
Box Office Mojo figures “Bourne” will clear $50, but not come as close to $60 as “Star Trek Beyond” did last weekend. Franchise to franchise, the fanbase is thinner and “Jason Bourne” is riding worse reviews.
Box Office Guru ignores Bourne’s bad reviews (and conversely thinks “Bad Moms” will suffer due to reviews) and predicts a $57 million weekend for Damon/Tommy Lee Jones and Alicia Vikander. Vincent Cassel makes a wonderful if under-motivated villain.
Mojo thinks “Moms” will manage $25, perfectly respectable for an R-rated comedy and the biggest hit that infant studio STX has ever had. Guru calls it a $23 million hit.
And Box Office Mojo figures “Nerve” did its briskest business Wednesday and is headed for a $12-13 million opening. The Guru expects $16 million by Sunday night. I think it’ll do better. Word of mouth should be decent.
“Star Trek Beyond” will lose north of 50%, as a fading franchise. “Ghostbusters” will start losing screens, big time, as it clears $100 million today, darkening its prospects of finishing in the $120-130 million range in the US.