The Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker action comedy Rush Hour 3, reviewed positively on this site last week, opened very strongly at the box office, finishing first among all films in U.S. ticket sales last weekend, thoroughly outdrawing the previous week’s winner The Bourne Supremacy. Reuters reports:

"Rush Hour 3," the buddy film starring Chan and Chris Tucker that comes six years after the duo’s last romp, grossed $50.2 million in its first weekend at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

"The Bourne Ultimatum," the third installment of the espionage action series starring Matt Damon as a one-time CIA hit man searching for his past, took in $33.7 million in its second weekend playing in North American theaters, a 51 percent drop, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

Both films are very good entertainment with basically sound values, so audiences are making good choices this week.

New releases Stardust, at number four, and Daddy Day Camp, at number five, drew lackluster numbers ($9 million and $3.6 million. respectively), though Stardust‘s targeted audience of older females was unlikely to rush out on the first weekend, according to industry watchers, and hence it may do well in time.

The Simpsons Movie dropped to third place, taking in $11.1 million.

Interestingly, Rush Hour 3 did not open as strongly as Rush Hour 2 ($67.4 million in August 2002), even though RH3 is the far better film. That makes sense, however, because Rush Hour 2 benefited from having a much stronger predecessor, the first Rush Hour, than Rush Hour 3 had. I suspect that RH3 will do very well overall, reviving the franchise nicely.