Box office: After strong Friday start, ‘Jason Bourne’ eyes $60 million opening weekend

Jason Bourne is back — and moviegoers are eager to see him again.

With estimated Friday ticket sales of $22.7 million, according to Box Office Mojo, “Jason Bourne� started the weekend in the No. 1 position, putting the Universal Pictures’ title on track to make around $60 million through Sunday. That would be in keeping with analysts’ pre-release estimates, and a slight improvement on the previous box-office champ, “Star Trek Beyond,� which made $59 million last weekend.

“Jason Bourne� is the first installment since 2012 in the long-running action franchise based on Robert Ludlum’s popular books. But where 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy� starred Jeremy Renner and was directed by Tony Gilroy, the new film reunites actor Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass, who made 2004’s “The Bourne Supremacy� and 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum.�

Despite (or perhaps because of) the earlier movies’ success, Greengrass was unsure about returning to the amnesic super-assassin’s world of international intrigue.

“I was skeptical there was one to be done, I was skeptical I wanted to do it and I was skeptical it would hold up with the others,� the director recently told The Times.

Yet Damon convinced him that they were “lucky to have an audience that loves this character,� Greengrass said. “I thought, ‘Maybe I’ve been too negative to an old friend.’ �

Behind “Jason Bourne,� STX Entertainment’s “Bad Moms� entered the weekend at No. 2. The comedy with Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell earned $9.6 million Friday, Box Office Mojo estimated, ahead of expectations that it would make $20 million over the weekend.

“Star Trek Beyond� finished Friday at No. 3 on ticket sales of around $6.75 million, followed by “The Secret Life of Pets� at No. 4 (with $5.53 million) and “Lights Out� at No. 5 (with $3.54 million).

Twitter: @mikaelwood