All systems were ago during this weekend at the box office for Star Trek Beyond. Pulling in $59 million domestically, the third installment in the rebooted franchised earned the number one spot in the top five. Compared to its two predecessors, this was the lowest opening weekend gross of the three. With the official numbers, it’s about $10 million shy of Into Darkness. Despite a new director in Justin Lin and the baggage of Star Trek Into Darkness, Beyond was a critical success as well albeit smaller than its precursors. With discussions about a fourth film already in overdrive, the sky is the limit for the crew of the Enterprise.
While it dropped to second place, The Secret Life of Pets had a third strong weekend with $29 million. Although its returns plummeted by over %40, the film has already grossed over $250 million domestically. Finding Dory’s additional $7 million hauls earned its place as the 9th highest grossing domestic release of all time. Both of these successes did little to spur on Ice Age: Collision Course this weekend. The fifth installment opened to a meager $21.4 million and a fourth place debut. Not only is this the lowest opening total for the series thus far, it is by a significant margin. No other Ice Age film opened below $40 million, even the fourth installment grossed twice the total of Collision Course. There’s no need to panic yet though, the franchise is the highest grossing animated series at the international box office.
Lights Out, the James Wan-produced horror film, had a stellar performance in third place. Wan, who directed The Conjuring 2 earlier this year, has become a profitable name in the genre. Starring Teresa Palmer, it opened to an impressive $21 million. Considering it has a production budget of only $5 million, it’s already a relative success which can only gain more. Depending on its production and competition in the coming weeks, it could end its domestic run between $50-55 million.
In a photo finish, Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters finished in fifth place with $21 million. With a gross decline of over 50%, this is a relative disappointment compared to prior McCarthy/Feig collaborations. It’s made back its budget thanks to international markets but to justify a sequel, it may have to grow some legs. Considering those heavy hitters Jason Bourne and Suicide Squad are on the horizon, it may be spooked off by the impending competition.
