Weekend Wrap-Up: Star Trek Has A Dim Launch
May 21, 2013
There was some bad news this weekend, mostly at the top. Star Trek into Darkness did open in first place with a very healthy 4-day total, but it opened below its predecessor and not a lot of people were predicting that. The overall box office fell 2.8% from last weekend to $154 million. On the other hand, this was 7.8% higher than the same weekend last year, which is great news, as 2013 has really struggled in the year-over-year comparison. It's going to take a lot more than one good weekend to turn things around.
It's hard to accurately describe the opening weekend for Star Trek into Darkness. We can say it made $70.17 million over the weekend for a four-day total of $83.70 million. However, it is really difficult to say if that was a good opening or not. It is in the top 30 for biggest May weekend, but it is also lower than Star Trek opened with four years ago, despite four years of inflation and a substantial increase in its production budget. Additionally, its reviews are weaker than its predecessor's reviews were and since it is a sequel, its legs will likely be shorter. That said, if it can reach $200 million domestically and $300 million internationally, it should break even early in its initial push into the home market. It's hard to call it a miss, even with great expectations, but this is a softer opening than many were predicting.
Iron Man 3 did a little better than expected pulling in $35.77 million over the weekend for a total of $337.66 million after three. At this pace, $400 million is obtainable, which is more than a lot of people thought it would earn.
The Great Gatsby added $23.94 million over the weekend to its running tally, which has reached $90.68 million after ten days of release. It will quickly become Baz Luhrmann's first $100 million hit domestically. Unfortunately, the film cost nearly $200 million to make, so it will need to make a lot internationally and on the home market to break even.
Pain and Gain surprised, landing in fourth place with $3.24 million over the weekend for a total of $46.71 million after four. It should reach $50 million by this time next week, which is enough to be a solid midlevel hit.
The Croods climbed back into the top five with $3.02 million over the weekend. The film now has $177.02 million after nearly two months of release.
The only sophomore film not in the top five was Peeples, which landed in ninth place with $2.16 million over the weekend for a total of $7.87 million after two. Needless to say, this is an incredibly disappointing run.
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Croods, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Great Gatsby, Iron Man 3, Pain & Gain, Peeples, Baz Luhrmann