MAY 17-19 BOX OFFICE REPORT - STAR TREKS INTO MEDIOCRITY

Opening significantly below expectations (and even below its predecessor's initial grosses), sci-fi sequel Star Trek Into Darkness has far from bombed at the domestic box office, but its opening weekend haul is a clear disappointment. Its $70.2 million isn't bad, and neither is its $83.7 four-day total (it opened on Thursday, with late-Wednesday showings), but even Iron Man 3's second weekend bested Star Trek's first, so signs aren't looking good for the franchise. Audiences were fairly pleased, all the same, and as were critics, although both reactions are not quite as stellar as Paramount might have hoped. It may even fall short of $200 million domestically, while 2009's Star Trek took in over $250 million.

The top of the box office fared as expected - moderate-to-large drops for most of the highest earners, although The Croods' low drop did see it climb two places to No. 5. Also, thanks to a significant expansion, fellow animated hit Escape from Planet Earth shot back up into the top 20, while a major expansion saw The Iceman climb from 29 to 13. Mud held steady at No. 8. Among limited openers, Frances Ha (25) was the clear winner, scoring a per-theatre average of over $34k. Augustine (58) was soft, as was The English Teacher (76). And even a Golden Lion couldn't boost Pieta's performance - it opened at 74 with a dismal per-theatre average of just $519 - at a mere 12 theatres, that's worse than reviled comedy The Big Wedding at over 1,400.

The Winner / Highest Opener: Star Trek Into Darkness ($70,165,559)

Top Per-Theatre Average: Frances Ha ($34,350)

For all the details, check out Box Office Mojo.