Even though Rush Hour 3 did top the box office this weekend, I take some solace in the fact that it underperformed at 50.2 million dollars. Considering that New Line gave away so much profit to get the movie made, there's hope that we've seen the last of the never-funny pairing of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Bourne Ultimatum had a solid second week, adding 33.6 million to raise its cume to 132.3 million. It should end up being the top grosser of the Bourne series and, unlike say Rush Hour 3, deserving of another chapter. The Simpsons Movie finished third, totalling 11.1 million and now sitting at an unexpectedly robust 152.2 million.

The big disappointment this weekend was Stardust. Despite consistently good reviews, audiences just didn't go for Matthew Vaughn's superb romantic fantasy. It finished with a very weak 9 million in its first weekend and should sink quickly. See it this week! Underdog finished fourth in its second weekend, taking in 6.4 million to up its gross to 24.7 million. After that it was the surprisingly durable Hairspray (6.2M, 92.1M), Chuck and Larry (5.9M, 103.8M), Order of the Phoenix (5.3M, 272M) and No Reservations (3.9M, 32.1M). Daddy Day Camp was D.O.A. with 3.5 million in its first weekend and 5.0 million since its Wednesday opening.

Of the films in the limited-release crowd, the werewolf-themed Skinwalkers was a dud, opening in the most theaters--737--and delivering the worst per-screen average in the top 30--$766. Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris opened big with $181,000 in only 10 theaters while Rocket Science did about half as well with $56,900 in 6 venues. The other new indie, Dans Paris played in only 2 theaters and managed an okay $6600 per. At the other end of the financial spectrum, Transformers became the fourth film this summer to break the 300 million-dollar mark joining Spidey 3, Pirates 3 and Shrek 3. I notice a troubling pattern here.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema