Though a $70 million opening might sound big, the debut weekend total for "Star Trek Into Darkness" isn't quite what Paramount had in mind, as the highly touted sequel made even less than the original amidst heavy competition. Meanwhile, "Iron Man 3" and "The Great Gatsby" both posted strong weekends and continue to have plenty of sway with their target audiences.
Following up a very popular franchise reboot in 2009, "Star Trek Into Darkness" gets launched this weekend amidst enormous expectations from Paramount - a studio that desperately needs a stable, big-budget franchise. With "Star Trek" taking over with action audiences, "Iron Man 3" should finally slide out of the number one spot.
Even with a very strong $51 million opening from "The Great Gatsby," "Iron Man 3" had no problem once again landing atop the box office charts, earning $72 million in its second weekend to push its 10-day domestic total to a staggering $284 million.
With huge numbers pouring in over the first week, "Iron Man 3" is just about a lock to remain far and away the top box office draw this weekend despite two new releases and the expansion of critically acclaimed thriller "Mud." The biggest competition "Iron Man 3" faces is "The Great Gatsby," director Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the classic novel starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
With an enormous opening weekend, "Iron Man 3" proved that the first weekend in May is still one of the most lucrative of the year, as the highly anticipated Disney release racked up a stunning $175 million in the U.S. alone on a per venue average of more than $41,000 per site.
Ever since Steven Spielberg's popcorn classic "Jaws," movie fans have stormed theaters around the world each summer expecting the best Hollywood has to offer. Though there are always a few critics that lament the coming of blockbuster season, the summer release schedule usually offers some of the most ambitious, most creative and most purely entertaining films of the year.
Following up the enormous success of "The Avengers," Tony Stark is back for another trip to the top of the box office charts with "Iron Man 3," which hits more than 4,200 theaters this weekend with expectations of being far and away the biggest hit so far this year.
With a steady $20 million opening, director Michael Bay's "Pain & Gain" had no problem finding the top of the charts in the last weekend before the summer movie season, as Tom Cruise's "Oblivion" saw a significant drop and other newcomer "The Big Wedding" completely misfired. It was also another strong weekend for older releases like baseball drama "42" and family film "The Croods."
With a popular cast including Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, director Michael Bay's "Pain & Gain" is in a good shape to open atop the box office this weekend, though it doesn't seem to be in line for an enormous opening despite Bay's clout with action audiences. Also hoping to find adult audiences this weekend is romantic comedy "The Big Wedding."
With more than $10,000 per site and $38 million overall, sci-fi adventure "Oblivion" got off to a decent start for distributor Universal, easily topping the box office despite both "42" and "The Croods" continuing to post strong overall numbers. Indie "The Place Beyond the Pines" also surged up the charts as it expanded to more than 1,500 theaters.