LOS ANGELES (AP)--"Star Trek" beamed itself up to the top of the
box office, earning $76.5 million in its opening weekend.
Paramount Pictures had estimated that the movie would make about
$50 million for the weekend but figured that strong reviews helped
carry it to the bigger opening.
Director J.J. Abrams' reboot of the beloved sci-fi franchise
made $72.5 million from Friday through Sunday, plus $4 million just
in pre-midnight screenings Thursday, the studio said Saturday. That
cumulative figure includes a record $8.2 million in IMAX
showings.
"Star Trek," which reveals the back stories of Capt. Kirk, Mr.
Spock and the rest of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, is an
unusual blockbuster that pleased critics, too, receiving 96 percent
positive reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes Web site.
"Last year 'The Dark Knight' and 'Iron Man' both were embraced
by critics as incredible filmmaking as well as big action-adventure
movies. This one has been even better reviewed," said Paramount
vice chairman Rob Moore. "You look at the level of critical
response and the audience reaction, we definitely feel like the
movie is set to play into Memorial Day and into the summer."
Moore said he expected the movie, which had a $140 million
budget, should gross more than $200 million total this summer, even
with competition like "Terminator: Salvation" coming May 21 and
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" arriving in theaters July
15.
Abrams got it right, he said, by appealing to both hardcore
"Star Trek" fans as well as moviegoers who may not have been
familiar with the 1960s television series and the many movies and
TV spin-offs it spawned. It stars Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary
Quinto as Spock, and features an appearance by Leonard Nimoy as an
older version of the half-Vulcan, half-human Spock.
"It just shows you how talented he is and what a great movie he
made," Moore said.
"Star Trek" also beat the $6.3 million record "The Dark Knight"
set in its opening weekend on IMAX screens last year.
"The DNA of this movie and the DNA of the `Star Trek' franchise
work perfectly together and are very much a complement to what IMAX
has accomplished," said Greg Foster, chairman and president of IMAX
Filmed Entertainment. "IMAX was a company that had a sort of
older-school, older-fashioned approach to things and we hipped it
up and reinvented ourselves, if you will. That's precisely what
J.J. Abrams and Paramount did with 'Star Trek.'"
The fact that the "Star Trek" haul improved from $26.8 million
on Friday to $27.4 million on Saturday is a good sign, said Paul
Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.
"Sometimes you will see a movie drop big-time," Dergarabedian
said. "What this 'Star Trek' is going to have is legs, a rare
commodity in this world where every week there's a new
blockbuster."
As expected, last week's top film, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine,"
came in at No. 2 with $27 million. The prequel to the "X-Men"
franchise, starring Hugh Jackman as the mutant who slices and dices
his enemies with his metal claws, has made nearly $129.6 million in
two weeks.
"It's the same weekend drop as ('X-Men: The Last Stand'), the
last one. That tends to be what fan-based movies do," said Chris
Aronson, senior vice president of domestic distribution for 20th
Century Fox. "To have $130 million in the first 10 days is
sensational. We think we withstood the attack of 'Star Trek,' if
you will, and will settle into a long, successful run."
The week's other new wide release, the stoner comedy "Next Day
Air," came in at sixth place with $4 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and
Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will
be released Monday. 1. "Star Trek," $72.5 million. 2. "X-Men
Origins: Wolverine," $27 million. 3. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,"
$10.45 million. 4. "Obsessed," $6.6 million. 5. "17 Again," $4.4
million. 6. "Next Day Air," $4 million. 7. "The Soloist," $3.6
million. 8. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $3.4 million. 9. "Earth," $2.5
million. 10. "Hannah Montana: The Movie," $2.4 million.