Star Trek Beams In New Fans

Posted on May 10, 2009

J.J. Abrams Star Trek remake was a huge hit in theatres this weekend. The film was well-received by both new fans and die-hard Trekkies. The film garnered stellar reviews and scored 96% on Rotten Tomatoes' tomatometer.

Deadline Hollywood Daily says Star Trek's huge box office score shows that the film's audience includes more than its fanbase of Trekkies.

Sources tell me that Paramount's Star Trek did $26M Saturday. That's 9% more than the J.J. Abrams reboot made on Friday, which is a surprise and demonstrates that the pic is widening well beyond its rabid fanbase of Trekkies. I hear the studio is now confident the 3 1/2-weekend total on 3,849 theaters will reach $75M (which includes Thursday night's $7M screenings and Sunday estimate of $18M). The 3-day weekend totals $68M.
Brandon Gray at Box Office Mojo says it was also the biggest opening yet for the Star Trek franchise.
Paramount Pictures' Star Wars-like treatment of Gene Roddenberry's science fiction franchise resulted in the biggest Trek opening yet, soaring past the previous high of Star Trek: First Contact, which started at $30.7 million or the equivalent of over $50 million adjusted for ticket price inflation.
Star Trek was followed by X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which followed its huge opening with a strong $27 million second weekend. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past was third and made another $10 million during its second week. Beyonce's Obsessed came and fourth and Zac Efron's 17 Again continues to surprise by taking the fifth slot on its fourth week in theatres. 17 Again has now made over $50 million. You can see the weekend box office chart here.


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