Chris Luckett
Star Trek Beyond, the 13th movie in the franchise and third of “the reboot years,” opened at #1 over the weekend, managing to both disappoint and set a box office record.
Earning an estimated $60-million over its first three days, Beyond couldn’t outpace the openings of 2009’s Star Trek ($75-million) and Star Trek Into Darkness ($70-million).
And yet, for the first time since 2013 and for only the sixth time ever, five movies grossed over $20-million. What’s more, whenever that’s happened, the #1 movie has never earned enough of the box office pie to make more than $45-million; Star Trek Beyond accomplished it with $60-million.
While Beyond‘s numbers are noticeably smaller than its predecessor, it’s strong reviews, an “A-” CinemaScore, and word-of-mouth should give the latest Star Trek longer legs, particularly with few action movies left in the next two months.
The Secret Life in Pets fetched an estimated $29-million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $261-million.
In what’s currently a dead-heat, both new horror movie Lights Out and last week’s Ghostbusters reboot earned an estimated $22-million.
Despite the series running on fumes at this point, Ice Age: Collision Course earned an estimated $21-million to comes in one of the strongest fifth-place openings ever. The Ice Age series is now the highest-grossing animated franchise in history, with a global haul of over $3-billion.
1. Star Trek Beyond ($59,600,000)
2. The Secret Life of Pets ($29,330,000)
3. (tie) Ghostbusters ($21,600,000)
3. (tie) Lights Out ($21,600,000)
5. Ice Age: Collision Course ($21,000,000)
6. Finding Dory ($7,220,000)
7. The Legend of Tarzan ($6,430,000)
8. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates ($4,400,000)
9. Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party ($3,700,000)
10. The Infiltrator ($3,293,840)
(Source: Box Office Mojo)