As expected, Paramount’s well-reviewed reboot of the Star Trek franchise took the number-one spot with a stellar $72.5 million. An incredible Friday to Saturday uptick shows that the film is resonating with audiences. After a strong showing of $4 million in pre-midnight Thursday screenings, the film went on to a solid $26.8M on Friday, $27.4M on Saturday and $18.3M on Sunday for a Friday through Sunday total of $72.5 million and a total cumulative of $76.5 million including the Thursday previews. The film will show major "legs" in the comings weeks with strong word-of-mouth propelling it well beyond the opening weekend. The J.J. Abrams crowd-pleaser boasts a terrific new cast (including Chris Pine as James T. Kirk) that nails the essence of the classic characters while giving them their own unique spin.IMAX showings of Star Trek set a new record for the large-screen giant with $8.2 million for the weekend (beating The Dark Knight's previous record of $6.3 million). Ninety percent of IMAX screenings of Trek were sold out for the entire weekend!
BONUS TRIVIA: Chris Pine’s dad, Robert Pine, played Sgt. Joseph Getraer (Ponch and John’s boss) in the TV cop show C.H.I.P.S., which ran from 1977-1983. Interestingly enough, Chris played Bill Pullman’s son in the 2008 wine country comedy Bottle Shock and Robert and Bill Pullman co-starred in 1996’s Independence Day. Pullman played President Thomas J. Whitmore and Pine played his Chief of Staff Glenn Parness. Chris was just 16 when that movie was released.
At number two with a silver bullet is Fox’s Wolverine, which took in about $27 million and a not insignificant, but expected second weekend drop of 68 percent. The film has earned a whopping $130 million in just ten days of release and certainly met with a lot of competition from Star Trek. Thus, no surprises here.
In third is the romantic comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past with $10.4 million for the weekend. The Warner Brothers film offers a safe haven to women looking to avoid the sci-fi genre and have their own “girl’s night” alternative. The Matthew McConaughey vehicle is up to $30.2 million in domestic receipts.
Number four brings Sony/Screen Gems’ Obsessed with about $6.6 million in alimony and offers another alternative to the big blockbusters; the highly profitable film now approaches the $60 million mark.
Rounding out the top five is Warner’s 17 Again as Zac Efron proves he is a box-office force to be reckoned with. Another $4.4 million has it holding strong with just a small fourth weekend drop of 31 percent and a total domestic cumulative of $54.2 million.
Finally at number six is the debut of R-rated comedy Next Day Air from Summit Entertainment. The film offered a comedy alternative in the weekend’s only other wide release debut and took in about $4 million worth of box office in the process.
A big 20 percent plus “up” weekend at the box office after last week’s slightly “down” weekend, and so begins the statistical tug-of-war for summer 2009 vs. 2008 box-office supremacy. Year to date still rockin’ at a 16.1 percent advantage in the revenue department and 13.4 percent attendance advantage as the summer-movie onslaught continues next week with Sony’s Da Vinci Code follow-up, Angels and Demons, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard. In limited release, look for the amazing The Brothers Bloom from Summit Entertainment.
THREE-DAY ESTIMATES:
1. NEW! Star Trek (Paramount) - $72.5M; 3849 theaters; $18,836 PTA
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) - $27M; 3849 theaters; $7,015 PTA; -68%; $129.6M cume
3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros.) - $10.4M; 3175 theaters; $3,291 PTA; -32%; $30.2M cume
4. Obsessed (Sony/Screen Gems) - $6.6M; 2602 theaters; $2,537 PTA; -45%; $56.2M cume
5. 17 Again (Warner Bros.) - $4.4M; 2903 theaters; $1,517 PTA; -31%; $54.1M cume
6. NEW! Next Day Air (Summit) - $4M; 1138 theaters; $3,515 PTA
7. The Soloist (Paramount) - $3.6M; 2090 theaters; $1,725 PTA; -36%; $23.5M cume
8. Monsters vs. Aliens (Paramount) - $3.3M; 2185 theaters; $1,546 PTA; -42%; $186.8M cume
9. Earth (Disney) - $2.4M; 1794 theaters; $1,387 PTA; -43%; $26M cume
10. Hannah Montana: The Movie (Disney) - $2.4M; 2301 theaters; $1,049 PTA; -42%; $74M cume
MORE BOX OFFICE:
LAST WEEK'S B.O.: Wolverine Sliced It!