‘Bourne Supremacy’ No. 1 at box office

Adults ruled theaters over the weekend, propelling Matt Damon’s “The Bourne Supremacy” to the top of the box office and “Fahrenheit 9/11” to blockbuster status.

Based on the Robert Ludlum novel, “Bourne” took in a strong $53.5 million according to studio estimates, the most ever for a film starring Damon.

Summer films typically attract moviegoers 25 and younger, but more than half of the “Bourne” audience was 30 or over, said Nikki Rocco of Universal Studios, which released the movie.

“I think older audiences are craving some old-style action over all the explosions and computer effects, and this movie had it,” Rocco said.

She attributes the film’s success in part to the popularity of the 2002 film “The Bourne Identity,” which took in $121.7 million (including a $27.1 million opening weekend) and was the most-rented home video of 2003.

“There was a pent-up demand,” Rocco said. “People have come to love Matt as that character.”

Audiences don’t seem to feel the same way about Halle Berry’s “Catwoman.” The comic-book adaptation, which cost $100 million to make, brought in a measly $17.2 million.

That put it a distant third behind Will Smith’s “I, Robot,” which took in $22.05 million in its second weekend to lift its 10-day total to $95.4 million.

The “Catwoman” take marks one of the lowest ever for a major comic-book adaptation, one of Hollywood’s most dependable genres because it is so popular with teen audiences.

“We did a little less than we anticipated,” says Dan Fellman of Warner Bros. “But we’re hoping to do well in the middle of the week.”

Grown-up moviegoers also helped “Fahrenheit 9/11,” the Michael Moore movie about the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, cross the $100 million mark. “Fahrenheit” raked in $5 million for the weekend for a total so far of $103.4 million, the first time a non-IMAX, nonconcert documentary has crossed that threshold of mainstream success.

Harvey Weinstein of Miramax films, which produced “Fahrenheit,” says the film’s performance eclipses the controversy over President Bush’s handling of events surrounding the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“There’s no way controversy alone drives a movie to this level,” Weinstein says. “This is a movie that’s succeeding on word of mouth now. You can’t talk at a party unless you’ve seen it.”