Nikki Finke: Star Trek Blast-Off

FRIDAY 9:45 PM: Sources tell me that the North American opening number for Paramount’s No. 1 Star Trek grosses today is looking like $25 million from 3,849 theaters. So, adding in Thursday 7 PM-Midnight screenings, the reimagined space odyssey has made $32 million so far. My insiders say the total weekend number now could easily reach $72M. “But it still has a shot at $75M if it gets any bump on Saturday,” an exec explains. (Rival studios now think the Fri-Sat-Sun tally will only be $65M “because it’s not expanding as the night goes on”.) To put that in perspective, a domestic weekend total under $50M would have meant the pic didn’t attract a new and younger audience and relied instead on the franchise’s older but loyal fanbase of Trekkies. It was risky for Paramount to market the movie as “not your father’s Star Trek”. But the critical reviews for JJ Abrams’ reboot are 90+% positive. – from Nikki