Box office: Halle Berry ended up as roadkill

Further down the chart, Michael Moore's record-breaking anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" passed the $100 million mark in its fifth weekend.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "The Bourne Supremacy," marking Damon's second turn as an amnesiac CIA killer, sold about $53.5 million worth of tickets in its first three days, setting a new personal best for the actor. The film cost a relatively modest $75 million to make, according to its distributor, Universal Pictures.

Its launch outpaced the $27 million start of 2002's "The Bourne Identity," which went on to earn $122 million in the United States and Canada.

Last weekend's champion, the Will Smith sci-fi thriller "I, Robot," slipped to No. 2 with $22.1 million, taking the 10-day total for the 20th Century Fox release to $95.5 million.

"Catwoman," in which Berry plays the feline superheroine from the DC Comics series, opened at No. 3 with a disappointing $17.2 million. Described as a "mangy misfire" by Daily Variety and as "the biggest movie hairball this side of 'Garfield"' by the Chicago Tribune, the film was budgeted in the high $80 million-range, according to its distributor, Warner Bros.

"We're a little disappointed," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic theatrical distribution at the Time Warner Inc.-owned studio. He had hoped the movie would open in the $20 million range.

Berry, who won an Academy Award in 2002 for "Monster's Ball," dons bondage gear to take on an evil cosmetics tycoon. Directed by mononymous Frenchman Pitof, a visual effects maven, the film also stars Sharon Stone, who has not had a hit since 1992's "Basic Instinct."

Rounding out the top-five, "Spider-Man 2" slipped two places to No. 4 with $15 million, taking its haul to $328.5 million after four weekends. A spokesman for distributor Columbia Pictures declined to say whether he thought the film would match the $404 million haul of its 2002 predecessor.

Warner Bros.' "A Cinderella Story," starring Hilary Duff, slipped one place to No. 5 with $8.0 million, for a 10-day total of $29.8 million.

Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" fell two places to No. 7 with $5.0 million for a total of $103.4 million, having long ago beaten the $21.6 million record for a documentary in regular release, held by his own "Bowling For Columbine."

Overall sales were down from the year-ago weekend, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. The top-12 films grossed $141.4 million, down four percent from last year, when "Spy Kids 3D: Game Over" opened at No. 1 with $33.4 million. Sales were up fractionally from last weekend.

"The Bourne Supremacy" was directed by British filmmaker Paul Greengrass, who won acclaim for his 2002 docudrama about the Irish troubles "Bloody Sunday." Bourne plays an agent hunted both by his former CIA colleagues as well as by European thugs. Joan Allen co-stars. Critics were enthusiastic.

Universal said 92 percent of viewers had seen the "The Bourne Identity," with almost two-thirds of those having caught it in a theater. That film, directed by Doug Liman, was the No. 1 home video rental for 2003, Universal said. A recently released version, boasting a new beginning and ending, is expected to be the No. 1 seller when data are released next week, Universal added.

Damon's previous best opening the the ensemble crime caper "Ocean's 11, which bowed with $38.1 million in 2001. He shared an Academy Award with buddy Ben Affleck for writing "Good Will Hunting."

Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co.-controlled NBC Universal, has had an uncharacteristically difficult summer with the big-budget misfires "Van Helsing" and "The Chronicles of Riddick."

Twentieth Century Fox is a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp. "Fahrenheit 9/11" was released by Lions Gate Films, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., and by IFC Films, a unit of Cablevision Systems Corp.'s Rainbow Media Holdings.