Star Trek Into Darkness Opening "Sort of Lackluster"; Iron Man 3 Hits $1 Billion Worldwide

J.J. Abrams' much-anticipated Chris Pine-Zachary Quinto sequel posts estimated $11.4 million Thursday; Robert Downey Jr. superhero adventure still looks smashing at box office

By Joal Ryan May 17, 2013 5:49 PMTags
Star Trek Into Darkness, Chris Pine, Zachary QuintoCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Star Trek Into Darkness grossed an estimated $11.4 million on its first full day in theaters, a number that seemed "sort of lackluster" for the much-anticipated J.J. Abrams-directed sequel, a box-office anaylist said.

"Sci-fi does have a sort of glass ceiling," Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock said Friday. "Maybe it reached a max potential on the first one.

Iron Man 3, meanwhile, smashed through the $1 billion mark worldwide, and crossed the $300 million mark domestically, its studio announced.

While the Iron Man 3 milestones were expected, the Star Trek Into Darkness stats were not.

The film's Thursday gross was reminiscent of the one posted by G.I. Joe: Retaliation. But while the latter movie was a spring release with bad buzz, Into Darkness is a high-profile summer entry with great reviews. A splashy, but not-world-beating opening day of $16 million-$18 million was conceivable, Bock said.  

Indeed, heading into the weekend, forecasters were extremely bullish on the Chris Pine-Zachary Quinto adventure, a sequel to the 2009 Star Trek reboot. 

With the film having grossed about $13 million since opening domestically on Wednesday night, projections have inched southward. BoxOffice.com moved its Friday-Sunday projection from $90 million-plus to $87 million. Bock said he could see the new film coming in at about where the previous Trek came in, about $75 million.

Still, it's early—maybe too early? Bock guessed some audiences weren't aware the film was showing at non-IMAX theaters on Wednesday and Thursday.

"It still might [hit weekend projections]," Bock said."It's just that this number right now is a little low."

For Iron Man 3, the Robert Downey Jr. film hit the $300 million milestone in its 14th day in theaters. It'll almost assuredly pass the cumulative domestic runs of both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 by Sunday.