'Star Trek Into Darkness' opens with $70.55 million

HOLLYWOOD, May 19 (UPI) -- "Star Trek Into Darkness" took in an estimated $70.55 million to finish No. 1 in its opening weekend in U.S. theaters.

Written and directed by J.J. Abrams, the latest entry in the "Star Trek" canon dethroned former No. 1 "Iron Man 3," which grossed an estimated $35.1 million in its third weekend and ran its domestic gross to $337 million, Box Office Mojo reported.

Paramount, which co-financed "Star Trek Into Darkness" with Skydance Productions, had said it anticipated an opening-weekend gross of about $86 million, the Los Angeles Times reported. Combined with receipts from IMAX screenings Wednesday, the movie has taken in $84 million overall, the Times said.

The Great Gatsby" lost more than 53 percent of its opening weekend total, taking in $23.4 million to finish third, while action specialist Michael Bay's comedy, "Pain and Gain" grossed $3.1 million in its fourth week in release to finish at No. 4.

The animated feature, "The Croods," took in $2.75 million in its ninth week, running its overall total to $176.7 million.

"42" ($2.7 million); "Oblivion" ($2.2 million); "Mud" ($2.16 million); "Tyler Perry Presents Peeples" ($2.15 million); and "The Big Wedding" ($1.1 million) completed the Top 10.