Up Hits Box Office Heights

(NEWSER) - Even the Terminator couldn’t beat Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which banked $53.5 million this weekend, Reuters reports. Terminator Salvation finished second with $43.0 million—but did haul in a $56.4 million 4-day total after opening Thursday. Star Trek ($22 million), Angels & Demons ($21.4 million), and Dance Flick ($11 million) rounded out the top five. More»

(NEWSER) - Hollywood is in the middle of an illuminating summer. The season started strong, with Star Trek, The Hangover, and Up, before things seriously cooled off, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some big releases await, but here are some of the lessons learned so far:

• Playability has eclipsed marketability: Films with good word of mouth, like The Hangover, have done well, while Terminator and Wolverine fell flat in their second weekends.

(NEWSER) - Up kept soaring this weekend with $44.2 million, just above Hangover’s $43.3 million debut, USA Today reports. Execs at both films’ studios are pleased with the higher-than-expected results, but Will Ferrell’s Land of the Lost didn’t fare so well, opening to just $19.5 million. Meanwhile, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian ($14.6 million) and Star Trek ($8.4 million) kept up their winning streaks. More»

(NEWSER) - Angels & Demons ascended to the box office heavens this weekend with a $48 million debut, Entertainment Weekly reports. That’s well behind The Da Vince Code’s $77.1 million opening in 2006, due in part to Star Trek’s strong second-weekend haul of $43 million. Wolverine came in third with $14.8 million, while sleeper hits Ghosts of Girlfriends Past ($6.9 million) and Obsessed ($4.6 million) rounded out the top five. More»

(NEWSER) - Star Trek set phasers for box office “kill” this weekend with a $76.5 million debut, Entertainment Weekly reports. Falling short of Wolverine’s $85.1 million opener last week, the take still exceeds expectations and bodes well for a franchise that needs a boost. Wolverine dropped a hefty 68% at $27 million, followed by Ghosts of Girlfriends Past ($10.5 million), Obsessed ($6.6 million), and 17 Again ($4.4 million). More»