Star Trek Into Darkness had a surprise opening at the box office this weekend with a softer than expected debut. Most prognosticators (including yours truly) estimated the sequel to the 2009 hit would gross over $100 million over the Thursday to Sunday frame. My exact prediction was $106.2M.
It didn’t go down that way. Darkness earned $84.1 million, not much higher than the three day opening of the original four summers ago. This has got to be a letdown for Paramount when one of their summer tentpoles opens a full $20 million below expectations. Still, an A Cinemascore grade could forecast nice legs ahead, even though there is fierce competition coming next weekend.
Other titles came in just a bit below my predictions. Iron Man 3 was second with $35.2 million (I projected $37.3M). In its second weekend, The Great Gatsby took third with $23.4 million (I estimated $25.6M). Pain and Gain was fourth with $3.1 million (I went with $3.4M). I incorrectly estimated 42 would be fifth with a $3.3 million gross. It came in sixth with $2.7 million, making The Croods fifth with $2.8 million.
Starting tonight on the blog, I’ll have prediction posts for the three big debuts for Memorial weekend. This evening – my prediction for The Hangover Part III. Tomorrow – Fast and Furious 6. Tuesday – the animated feature Epic. Stay tuned!
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