'Star Trek' rakes in $79.2M in 1st weekend

HOLLYWOOD, May 11 (UPI) -- The opening weekend tally for "Star Trek" in the United States was $79.2 million, $3 million higher than initial estimates, Paramount Pictures said Monday.

The figure reflects box-office receipts for the Thursday night through Sunday period in 3,849 locations.

Initially, the movie was expected to bring in $18.3 million Sunday, but it ended up grossing $21 million, the studio said, crediting better than expected family attendance with the upsurge.

"The spike over our initial estimates on Mother's Day demonstrates that the combination of strong reviews and solid word-of-mouth contributed to better than anticipated attendance by families yesterday, confirming our belief that 'Star Trek' has a broad, multi-generational appeal," Rob Moore, vice-chairman of Paramount Pictures, said in a statement Monday.

The film was directed by J.J. Abrams and stars John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy.