Francois Duhamel/Paramount PicturesTwo summer ago, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek revitalized a franchise, and begged a sequel.
A sequel that because of Super 8, in part, still hasn't taken off.
So, box office-wise, did Abrams made the right move—and movie?
It's hard to argue with a first-place finish and a strong $37 million gross (off a blockbuster-cheap $50 million budget).
The kids-with-a-camera tale schooled X-Men: First Class, last weekend's No. 1 film, which had an OK hold, but still managed to get beat by a lot.
On the upside for Trekkers, now that Abrams has gotten his Steven Spielberg movie out of his system, he's seriously talking Star Trek 2 again.
On the downside for Trekkers, Abrams isn't sounding too married to the Trek sequel's summer 2012 release date. (And, by the by, he still hasn't officially committed to directing; he's only down for producing.) Plus, there's buzz, as recounted by Deadline.com, that Trek 2 will be pushed back to Christmas 2012.
Well, as long as a Super 8 sequel doesn't arrive before Captain Kirk's…
Elsewhere at the box office, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer was but the latest tween bomblet, debuting with just $6.3 million off a $20 million budget.
The Hangover Part II broke the $200 million mark domestically, while Brad Pitt's The Tree of Life inched closer to the Top 10 (despite continuing to play at well under 100 theaters).
Here's a complete look at the top-grossing films, per Friday-Sunday estimates as compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
- Super 8, $37 million
- X-Men: First Class, $25 million
- The Hangover Part II, $18.5 million
- Kung Fu Panda 2, $16.6 million
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, $10.8 million
- Bridesmaids, $10.2 million
- Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, $6.3 million
- Midnight in Paris, $6.1 million
- Thor, $2.4 million
- Fast Five, $1.7 million