'Bourne' Buries 'Catwoman' With $53.5M

LOS ANGELES – Matt Damon (search) found supremacy at the box office, while Halle Berry (search) coughed up a hairball.

Damon's "The Bourne Supremacy," his sequel about the amnesiac assassin of "The Bourne Identity," debuted as the top weekend movie with $53.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. That was nearly double the opening-weekend take of $27.1 million for "Bourne Identity" in summer 2002.

Berry's critically derided comic-book adaptation "Catwoman" opened a distant third with $17.16 million, behind No. 2 film "I, Robot," which took in $22.05 million to lift its 10-day total to $95.4 million.

Michael Moore's (search) "Fahrenheit 9/11" came in at No. 7 with $5 million, lifting its domestic total to $103.35 million, the first documentary ever to top $100 million.

"The Bourne Supremacy," starring Damon as CIA killing machine Jason Bourne, outdid another super-agent with the same initials. The sequel's opening weekend topped the $47.1 million debut for "Die Another Day," the best premiere ever for the James Bond (search) franchise.

Universal Studios made "The Bourne Supremacy" for about $75 million, a bargain price in a business where many summer thrillers cost $100 million or more to produce.

"Making this film at a reasonable budget by today's standards just is something else to celebrate," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution.

"Catwoman" cost a bit less than $100 million to make, but its opening gross was a disappointment for distributor Warner Bros.

"I was hoping it would open up with a few more dollars in the bank," said Dan Fellman, Warner's head of distribution. "But it's a pretty competitive weekend out there. We'll have to see how we hold up during the week."

"Fahrenheit 9/11," produced for just $6 million, stands with Mel Gibson's religious blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ" as the year's big box-office surprises. The top prize winner at May's Cannes Film Festival, "Fahrenheit 9/11" is Moore's assault on President Bush over the Sept. 11 attacks.

The documentary, produced by Miramax, did not even have a distributor until weeks after Cannes. Disney refused to let subsidiary Miramax release it, so Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein bought the film back and lined up independent distribution.

Disney chief Michael Eisner said "Fahrenheit 9/11" had been too political for the company. Eisner recently said he saw the film and liked it.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" ended up doing more business than any release so far this year for Disney, which has been in a slump with such duds as "The Alamo," "King Arthur" and "Around the World in 80 Days."

"If you had told me when we were going through all the pre-distribution problems with Disney that this film would gross more than any other Disney film this year, I don't even know how to respond to that," Moore said Sunday. "I'm glad Mr. Eisner has said he liked the film, but I would think that his stockholders might wonder what his fiduciary responsibilities are to them at this point."

Two films debuted strongly in limited release. The samurai tale "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi" opened with $56,778 in four theaters. Colin Farrell's drama "A Home at the End of the World" premiered with $66,000 in five theaters.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Bourne Supremacy," $53.5 million.

2. "I, Robot," $22.05 million.

3. "Catwoman," $17.16 million.

4. "Spider-Man 2," $15 million.

5. "A Cinderella Story," $8.04 million.

6. "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," $7.1 million.

7. "Fahrenheit 9/11," $5 million.

8. "The Notebook," $4.45 million.

9. "King Arthur," $3.06 million.

10. "Shrek 2," $2.4 million.