After years of slumping returns, Paramount boldly handed over the reins of their Star Trek franchise to J.J. Abrams, and he did exactly what they hoped he would do. In 2009 his reboot powered to the top with a hefty $385M haul, setting some lofty expectations for the sequel. But were those expectations actually warranted? Four years later we've got Star Trek Into Darkness, and even with an IMAX 3D roll-out, the returns are actually weaker than before. Quietly opening a day earlier on Thursday, the 4-Day total is a scant $9M more than the opening 3-Day haul of the first film, suggesting that maybe there wasn't that big of an audience for this to begin with. Those who did turn out loved it enough to grade it an 'A' Cinemascore, so there may be a healthy amount of repeat viewers, especially amongst the 'Trek' faithful. These movies have never really been about the starpower, and even though Benedict Cumberbatch has widely been hyped as the villain, most American audiences are unfamiliar with him. It'll be interesting to see how his presence affects the international market, which a huge part of the previous film's success.
2. Iron Man 3- $35.2M/$337M
Iron Man is showing muscles of steel by crossing the $1B mark a few days ago, and managing to hold strong opposite the 1-2 punch of The Great Gatsby and Star Trek Into Darkness.
3. The Great Gatsby- $23.4M/$90.15M
Funny to think of Baz Luhrmann's Olympic-sized adaptation of The Great Gatsby as mature counter-programming, but when the other options involve superheroes and intergalactic warfare...well, the description fits. The film has done surprisingly well considering the soft Cinemascore and early buzz of production woes. Does that mean we can expect Luhrmann to give us a 3D $200M take on The Cather in the Rye next? Hopefully not.
4. Pain & Gain- $3.1M/$46.6M
5. The Croods- $2.75M/$176.75M
After taking advantage of its place as the only family-friendly offering around, it'll face some stiff competition when Epic opens next week.
6. 42- $2.7M/$88.7M
7. Oblivion- $2.2M/$85.5M
Another domestic dud for Tom Cruise, but it's done solid business overseas and should do considerably more with a Japanese release on the horizon.
8. Mud- $2.16M/$11.6M
9. Tyler Perry Presents Peeples- $2.15M/$7.6M
10. The Big Wedding- $1.1M/$20.2M
