Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond scored a solid $59.6 million from 3,928 theaters over the weekend, taking the lead in first place at the box office.
“This opening is a solid debut for a film and a franchise, showing that Star Trek still stands the test of time,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “There have been 13 Star Trek films going back to 1979, rivaling James Bond in screen longevity.”
Though successful, the debut total was quite the dip in comparison to the first two rebooted films: 2009’s Star Trek ($75.2 million) and 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness ($70.2 million).
“We’ve seen diminishing returns in this brand, no question,” Dergarabedian says. “But in the context of this summer, Star Trek Beyond is a hit.”
The sci-fi adventure stars Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and the late Anton Yelchin who reprise their roles, while Idris Elba and Sofia Boutella join the franchise. In Star Trek Beyond, the USS Enterprise crew who are stranded on an unknown planet, are faced with a new enemy – the ruthless military commander Krall (Elba).
Moviegoers gave the film an A-minus CinemaScore, while critics gave it a strong 84 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In second place at the box office is Universal and Illumination Entertainment’s animated holdover The Secret Life of Pets, which added another $29.3 million to its $260.7 million domestic total and $323.7 million worldwide haul.
New Line and Warner Bros.’ weekend newcomer included Lights Out, which tied with Sony’s Ghostbusters for third place with $21.6 million from 2,818 theaters, Moviegoers, who were 37 percent under the age of 18 and 54 percent female, gave the horror film a B CinemaScore, while critics gave it a 77 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
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The female-led Ghostbusters dropped 53 percent this weekend, gathering a domestic grand total of $86.9 million.
The weekend’s final new wide release included Ice Age: Collision Course, which debuted with $21 million from 3,392 theaters domestically. The animated film, which fell in fifth place on the charts, received a B-plus CinemaScore from moviegoers and a 13 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics.
“North American audiences are pretty tired of the franchise, which showed nothing new here,” said Jeff Bock, box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. “But this has everything to do with Secret Life of Pets, which has just been a bulldozer, and also Finding Dory. There’s been too much family animation in rapid succession.”
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: July 22-24
- Star Trek Beyond — $59.6 million
- The Secret Life Of Pets — $29.3 million
- Ghostbusters — $21.6 million
- Lights Out — $21.6 million
- Ice Age: Collision Course — $21.0 million
- Finding Dory — $7.2 million
- The Legend of Tarzan — $6.4 million
- Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates — $4.4 million
- Kabali — $4.1 million
- Hillary’s America: The Secret History Of — $3.7 million
