'Hornet's Nest' lacks predecessors' sting

LOS ANGELES  – "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" -- the last installment of a Swedish crime trilogy about a feisty bisexual computer hacker -- underperformed its predecessors during its first weekend at the North American box office.

The film rang up $751,296 from 122 theaters. That represented a solid $6,158 per engagement, but the average was still the weakest in the series.

The trilogy kicked off in March with "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," set for a U.S. remake next year, which ended up with $10.1 million; the July follow-up, "The Girl Who Played With Fire," totes a $7.6 million haul. Their respective opening-weekend averages were $9,868 and $8,380.

Elsewhere in the arthouse world, IFC Films debuted the French crime drama "Inspector Bellamy," starring Gerard Depardieu, in two New York theaters and grossed $22,400, or an encouraging $11,200 per venue.

"Welcome to the Rileys" -- a drama starring James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart and Melissa Leo -- earned $45,000 from 10 playdates in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, or $4,500 per engagement.

The British comedy "Wild Target," with Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt, collected $24,300 from two locations each in New York and in L.A., or $6,079 per site.

The Clint Eastwood-directed drama "Hereafter," earned $6.3 million during its second weekend of wide release, suffering a 47% drop, good enough for fifth place overall. With $22.2 million in the bag so far, the $50 million Matt Damon vehicle is looking to mount a leggy run on support from mostly older moviegoers.

Fox Searchlight's legal drama "Conviction" grabbed the No. 10 spot with $1.8 million after expanding to 565 theaters in its third weekend, yielding a modest $3,230 average. Sales for the Hilary Swank vehicle stand at $2.4 million, and the studio does not plan to widen the film too much beyond its current theater count.