The Star Trek franchise has already lived long, but just how prosperous will it be for Paramount Pictures?
The third entry in the J.J. Abrams series debuted at the box office in the US on Friday, collecting $22.5 million (Dh82.6 million), according to the studio. That means Star Trek Beyond is on track to collect roughly $60 million by weekend’s end — about $10 million less than the last Star Trek film launched with in 2013.
Still, a $60-million opening is decent — as long as the film performs well overseas. The second instalment in the franchise collected $467.4 million worldwide, and the new film will need to rival that sum to make up for its $185-million budget and pricey marketing campaign.
Like the other entries in the Star Trek franchise, Beyond was well-liked by critics. Filmgoers who turned up to see the movie on Friday gave it strong marks, too, assigning the film an average grade of A-, according to market research firm CinemaScore.
The movie, which was directed by Fast and Furious veteran Justin Lin, follows Kirk and Spock as they battle a new enemy in the outer reaches of space. Actors Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana reprise their roles in the third film, along with Anton Yelchin, who died last month in a freak car accident at age 27. The cast, along with producer Abrams, paid tribute to Yelchin at the film’s splashy outdoor premiere at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Wednesday.
The other big-budget franchise opening at the box office this weekend, 20th Century Fox’s Ice Age: Collision Course, grossed a lackluster $7.8 million on Friday. Heading into the weekend, box office analysts had predicted the animated film would debut with $25 million — far less than the $46 million the last Ice Age movie opened with in 2012.
The new Ice Age film — the fifth in the series — has received far worse reviews than any of its predecessors with a 13 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Moviegoers gave it an average grade of B+. The previous Ice Age movies all scored in the A-range.
Like Star Trek Beyond, the latest Ice Age flick will need to perform well abroad to make up for its so-so US returns. The fourth film in the series made a whopping 81 per cent of its $877-million global tally overseas, performing especially well in Germany, France and Russia.
The only other new film that opened in the US this weekend, the inexpensive horror film Lights Out, collected $9.2 million this weekend. That means the film will likely exceed the $18 million-opening industry analysts had anticipated for the Warner Bros release starring Teresa Palmer.
Star Trek Beyond is currently out in UAE cinemas.
