‘Star Trek’ hits RM243mil on opening weekend

PARAMOUNT’S Star Trek Beyond is dominating the US box office, blasting off for an impressive weekend of as much as US$60mil (RM243mil) at 3,928 locations, early estimates showed.

It’s a solid start for the 13th film in the durable franchise, following a summer that’s seen notably disappointing performances from several sequels.

That negative trend appears to be dragging down Fox’s animated comedy Ice Age: Collision Course, which looks to under-perform in the US$22mil (RM89mil) range at 3,992 venues.

The fifth Ice Age movie may wind up trailing the third weekend of Secret Life of Pets and the second weekend of Ghostbusters in a battle for second place.

New Line’s low-cost horror-thriller Lights Out is overperforming with initial estimates showing a debut between US$15mil (RM60mil) and US$20mil (RM81mil) at 2,818 sites.

Star Trek Beyond, the third film in the rebooted sci-fi series, opens on Friday at 3,928 sites and appears to be performing in line with projections.

Star Trek Beyond is being released in conjunction with the upcoming 50th anniversary of the first airing of the landmark TV series.

“Star Trek is an undeniably iconic brand that has stood the test of time and if you include the original TV series, one that has been around nearly 50 years and is rivalled only by James Bond for its ability to still draw a huge audience,” noted Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore.

Justin Lin (Fast & Furious 6) directs the new film, which premiered at Comic-Con on Wednesday.

The movie has a hefty US$185mil (RM751mil) production budget and brings back Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock and Karl Urban as Dr McCoy. — Reuters