Star Trek Beyond soars to top of North American box office

Box Office “Star Trek Beyond” debuted to a solid 59.6 million dollars at the weekend.

On the flip side, it can be argued that results for “Star Trek Beyond”, especially during a summer in which multiple big-budget sequels have flopped, reflect a job well done by Paramount. However, the film’s opening is behind that of the other two films in the rebooted series, 2009’s “Star Trek” and 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness”.

The latest Ice Age sequel, Collision Course, rounds out the new top five at five, after failing to cause much disruption in the box office chart with a disappointing $21 million (£16 million) debut.

While its predecessor, 2009’s “Dawn of the Dinosaur”, picked up 77.8 per cent of its 886.7 million dollars worldwide haul in foreign markets.

“Star Trek Beyond” is also counting on overseas audiences, some of whom have grown familiar with the 50-year-old property only recently, said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount.

Ice Age: Collision Course was skewered by critics. “Ice Age” received a “B+” and “Lights Out” got a “B”. “Star Trek Beyond” has landed atop the weekend box office. Both films brought in $21.6 million but the difference is that the James Wan produced horror only has a $4.9 million production budget, whereas Ghostbusters is on its second week already and is trying to recoup a $185 million price tag. “We’re going to be telling stories like a novel”, he told the Comic-Con audience.

Zachary Quinto can be seen in his third go ’round as Mr. Spock in Star Trek Beyond. Per arrangement with CBS Studios, the show’s episodes will be available within 24 hours after it has been released on CBS All Access, according to the Netflix press release.

In second was The Secret Life of Pets, which brought in $29.3 million in its third week in theaters.

The rest of the top 10 were rounded out by Finding Dory, The Legend of Tarzan, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, the “documentary” Hilary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party and finally The Infiltrator.

Fox Searchlight’s Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, based on the hit British TV series, took in $1.9-M from 313 theaters.