LOS ANGELES, Aug. 12 — The last big-budget movie of the summer, “Rush Hour 3,” opened in United States theaters with a middling $50.2 million in ticket sales, failing to match the performance of the franchise’s previous chapter.
But that underwhelming reception, combined with the struggles of Paramount’s “Stardust” fantasy, did little to cool a sizzling marketplace. “The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) sold a strong $33.7 million in tickets in its second week of release, pushing its total to $132.3 million, while “The Simpsons Movie” (Fox) grabbed the No. 3 spot in its third week with $11.1 million in ticket sales, for a domestic total of $152.2 million.
Over all, Hollywood notched a 21 percent increase in total receipts over the same weekend last year, marking the fifth weekend in a row that the movie business has recorded an uptick over 2006, according to Media by Numbers, a box office tracking firm.
Ticket sales totaled $3.62 billion for the period between May 1 and Aug. 5, a 9 percent increase over the same period last year. Attendance rose 4.6 percent.
“The orderly release schedule we’ve seen this summer seems to be keeping momentum alive,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers. “Studios are taking a chance on late summer, and it is paying off.”
“Rush Hour 3,” produced by New Line and directed by Brett Ratner, fell about $17 million short of the opening weekend for “Rush Hour 2,” which was released in August six years ago. It went on to capture $328.9 million worldwide.
New Line, part of Time Warner, has recently suffered more than its share of troubles. Efforts like “The Last Mimzy,” directed by its co-chairman Robert Shaye, have sputtered. Last week New Line ousted its top marketing executive. And “Rush Hour 3” was an expensive endeavor, costing more than $100 million to produce and market, partly because of the hefty salaries of its stars, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan.
Robert Pini, a spokesman for New Line, said that the studio was “very happy” with the movie’s opening performance, calling the showing “quite amazing” considering the competition. He noted that New Line has had success recently with “Hairspray,” which so far has a total gross of $92.1 million.
“Stardust,” an estimated $70 million fantasy starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro, earned only $9 million (and a fourth-place finish). Rounding out the weekend’s Top Five was Walt Disney’s “Underdog,” with $6.5 million ($24.7 million).
