The executive, who oversees distribution and marketing for the studio, said he expected many adults would return with older children to the PG-13 film. But he's also planning to re-orient some marketing to go after a heavy moviegoing group that was initially skeptical of the 43-year-old franchise.
"With the word of mouth, teenagers and people in their 20s will be much more receptive to our message, and we're really going to be reaching out," he said.
If "Star Trek" manages to drop no more than about 50% next weekend against "Angels & Demons," which is tracking best with women over age 25, it could be on its way to a $200-million-plus domestic box office. That would boost the chances of Paramount going ahead with the sequel it already has in development but hasn't yet greenlighted.
"Now we can say from a commercial and audience-reaction standpoint that there's no question it would be an exciting opportunity," Moore said of sequel prospects.
A $200-million-plus benchmark in domestic ticket sales is looking unlikely for "Wolverine," despite its big $85-million opening.
Fox's "X-Men" spinoff dropped a sizable 68%, indicating that weak word of mouth and little repeat viewing were hampering the movie on its second weekend in theaters. Total domestic ticket sales stand at $129.6 million.
By contrast, the second "X-Men" film, which opened to $85 million on the same weekend in 2003, grossed $147.7 million in its first 10 days.
"Wolverine" is proving stronger overseas, however, where it dropped 59% to $29.7 million on its second weekend and outgrossed the opening of "Star Trek" in France, Brazil and throughout Latin America. The film's worldwide total is now $253.3 million.
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benfritz@yahoo.com
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
BOX OFFICE
Preliminary results in the U.S. and Canada, based on studio projections:
*--* -- Movie 3-day gross Total Weeks -- (studio) (millions) (millions) 1 Star Trek $72.5 $76.5* 1 -- (Paramount) 2 X-Men Origins: Wolverine 27.0 129.6 2 -- (Fox) 3 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past 10.5 30.2 2 -- (Warner Bros.) 4 Obsessed 6.6 56.2 3 -- (Sony) 5 17 Again 4.4 54.2 4 -- (Warner Bros.) 6 Next Day Air 4.0 4.0 1 -- (Summit) 7 The Soloist 3.6 23.5 3 -- (Paramount) 8 Monsters vs. Aliens 3.4 186.9 7 -- (Paramount) 9 Earth 2.5 26.1 3 -- (Disney) 10 Hanna Montana: The Movie 2.4 74.1 5 -- (Disney) *--*
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Industry totals
*--* 3-day gross Change Year-to-date gross Change (in millions) from 2008 (in billions) from 2008 $152.0 +21.7% $3.4 +16.1% *--*
* Includes $4.0 million in Thursday night showings
Source: Hollywood.com Box Office
