USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Star Trek Beyond’ boldly goes to No. 1
‘ Pets’ stays strong; new ‘ Ice Age’ faces the deep freeze
Star Trek Beyond scored a direct photon torpedo hit with audiences, taking $ 59.6 million in its opening weekend to easily win the box office.
Beyond rode critical success, scoring an 84% positive rating on review site RottenTomatoes. com while introducing Trekkies to the villainous Krall ( Idris Elba) and dramatically destroying the USS Enterprise. Audiences gave it an A- minus at CinemaScore.
The third film in the film fran- chise landed amid the celebration of the TV series’ 50th anniversary. “This opening is a solid debut for a film and a franchise, showing Star Trek still stands the test of time,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore.
The total did reflect a trend of opening weekend drops from the first two rebooted films: Star Trek scored $ 75.2 million in 2009, and Star Trek Into Darkness took $ 70.2 million in 2013.
Animated monster The Secret Life of Pets scored a strong second with $ 29.3 million for a three- week total of $ 260.7 million. Third was a tie at $ 21.6 million between the rebooted Ghostbusters and the debut of microbudget horror film Lights Out.
Ghostbusters opened last weekend with a disappointing $ 46 million behind Pets. The Paul Feig-directed film starring all- female Ghostbusters saw a 53% drop this weekend for a domestic total of $ 86.9 million.
“Sony is pitching this as a comedy, but it didn’t hold like a comedy at the box office, which all Paul Feig films have done before,” says Jeff Bock, box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. “Ghostbusters is playing more like a blockbuster that wasn’t a blockbuster.”
The overperforming Lights Out already qualifies as a hit, given its thrifty production budget of $ 5 million. The film scored a 77% approval rating on RottenTomatoes and a B from audiences.
Ice Age: Collision Course landed with a thud in fifth place in its opening weekend. The fifth film in the once- dominant Ice Age animated franchise scored an acorn- sized $ 21 million against a budget of $ 105 million.
Final numbers are out Monday.