The trekkies have spoken; ‘Star Trek’ is number one at the movies

The latest installment of the classic television and movie series “Star Trek” delivered in a big way at the box office this past weekend, taking in $72.5 million during its opening weekend. Thursday night viewings of the film brought in an additional $4 million, making the film’s total take $76.5. While the film did not break overall box office records, it did manage to overtake “The Dark Knight” in total IMAX sales with $8.2 million.

The sci-fi classic, which was directed by “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams, has drawn glowing reviews from critics across the country and judging by the turnout of fans, they have agreed. The cast is generally made up of unknown actors including Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto, who portrays the ever-popular Mr. Spock. Much to the delight of die-hard “Star Trek” fans, the original Mr. Spock, Leonard Nemoy, also makes an appearance in the movie as an elder Spock.

The newest “Star Trek” aims to give audiences the background story of how the classic crew of the Starship Enterprise came together. Other notable cast members include John Cho as Lt. Sulu, Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard McCoy and Simon Pegg as Scotty.

The only other new release to land in the top ten at the movies this past week was “Next Day Air” starring Donald Faison and Mos Def. The comedy took in only $4 million, which delivered the film a sixth place finish.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was able to push its box office total to $130 million, bringing in $27 million of it this past week, good enough for second place. It was followed by the Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner romantic comedy “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” which brought in $10.4 million, bringing its total to a $30.2 since its release two weeks ago.

According to USA Today, movie ticket sales in the early summer movie season have been good, with this week’s total 22 percent higher than the same weekend last year.