LOS ANGELES _ Moviegoers had no trouble remembering "Jason Bourne" this weekend, powering the bone-rattling action franchise's fifth entry to an estimated $60 million opening to lead the North American box office.
The Universal film's three-day total was the second-best debut for a "Bourne" feature, trailing the $69.2 million opening of 2007's "The Bourne Ultimatum."
"Jason Bourne," which returned Matt Damon to the title role after he sat out "The Bourne Legacy" in 2012, found more favor with audiences than critics. Moviegoers gave it an A-minus grade, according to the market research firm CinemaScore, while it scored a so-so 58 on the review aggregator website Metacritic. Exit polls showed the audience split 55/45 male-female, with 60 percent age 35 and older.
Skewing older might help "Bourne" weather a second weekend, when it will be up against the DC Comics superhero movie "Suicide Squad."
The spy thriller also opened in 46 international markets, grossing an estimated $50.1 million this weekend, making it the No. 1 film at the international box office as well.
The weekend's other high-profile debut, STX Entertainment's R-rated comedy "Bad Moms," came in third with an estimated three-day total of $23.4 million.
Written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the team behind the first "Hangover" movie, the raunchy comedy found favor with some critics, winning praise for its funny, empathetic take on the "smother mother" archetype. Its predominately female audience _ 82 percent of the opening weekend audience was women _ agreed. "Bad Moms" earned an A grade from Cinema-Score respondents, becoming the first R-rated comedy to score an A since "The Hangover."
The new films will hope for better holds than last weekend's No. 1 movie, "Star Trek Beyond," which took in an estimated $24.2 million during its second weekend, a 59 percent drop.
"Nerve," a teen-targeted, social-media thriller about a student who gets drawn into an online reality dare game, opened Wednesday. Doing well with young female moviegoers, the movie has grossed $15 million in its first five days. Audiences liked it too, giving it an A-minus on CinemaScore.
Rounding out the top five: The animated hit "The Secret Life of Pets" came in fourth behind "Bad Moms," taking in $18.2 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its total to $296.1 million. The psychological thriller "Lights Out" finished fifth with a second weekend take of $10.8 million, putting its total to $42.9 million.
