‘Star Trek’ trumps ‘Iron Man 3’

LOS ANGELES, USA – “Star Trek: Into Darkness” soared at warp speed to the top of the US box office, smashing blockbuster sequel “Iron Man 3” off of first place after two weeks there, industry figures showed Monday.

The latest installment of the cult science fiction phenomenon starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto took in $70.2 million on its debut weekend, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

That’s roughly double what runner up “Iron Man 3” — the comic book superhero flick featuring Robert Downey Jr., which had topped the box office on its first two weekends in theaters — made with $35.8 million.

“The Great Gatsby,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of the literary classic, took third place with $23.9 million.

Fourth, and far behind at $3.2 million, was action-comedy “Pain and Gain,” about bodybuilders caught up in a botched kidnapping scheme.

Fifth place went to stone-age cartoon “The Croods” at just over $3 million followed by “42” — a biopic about trailblazing black baseball star Jackie Robinson — that made $2.8 million.

“Oblivion,” the post-apocalyptic action flick featuring Tom Cruise, took seventh place with $2.3 million, trailed by “Mud,” a coming-of-age story with Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, with $2.2 million.

“Peeples” starring Craig Robinson as a boyfriend who initially fails to impress the family of his girlfriend, played by Kerry Washington, came in a close ninth with just under $2.2 million.

Rounding out the top 10 was the star-studded comedy “The Big Wedding” — featuring Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton and Robin Williams — at $1.2 million. – Rappler.com