J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot soared to new heights for the storied franchise, earning an estimated $76.5 million (including Thursday night showings) and posting the second strongest debut of 2009 so far, trailing only Wolverine’s $85.6 million.  The Trek reboot set the attendance record for a film debuting in the second weekend in May and generally surpassed expectations, which had been rising in light of the movie’s growing buzz.  The film’s performance justified Paramount’s decision to move its debut from last December to the more competitive summer season, and solidified the studio’s resolve to proceed with a sequel (see “Paramount Eyes Trek Sequel”).

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): May 8-10:

Faced with stiff competition from Star Trek, Wolverine faded 68% to an estimated $27 million for its second weekend.  No other film in the top 12 suffered even a 50% decline and the total box office set a record for the second weekend in May trouncing the same frame last year by an impressive 22%.

Star Trek opened with a $30.8 million bang on Friday (including $4 million from Thursday night shows, see “Star Trek Does $31 Million”), fell just 11% on Saturday, before dropping an estimated 33% on Sunday.  The Trek totals were aided by a record-setting $8.2 million from 138 IMAX theaters, which broke the Dark Knight’s $6.3 million mark. The audience for Star Trek was, as might be expected, largely male (60%) and older (65% over 25), but they gave the film a “A” CinemaScore, which combined with strong reviews (a whopping 96% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) should yield good word of mouth and help Star Trek avoid the typical steep action-film sophomore slump in spite of competition for its older target audience from Angels & Demons.  Of course even if Star Trek holds up well in its second frame, it will face a double whammy during its third weekend thanks to the debuts of Terminator: Salvation and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

Wolverine has earned $129.6 million in just ten days without the benefit of higher-priced IMAX screenings, but the steep 68% decline during its sophomore session has many analysts predicting that the film won’t break the $200 mark.  Wolvie’s second week drop was in line with those of Watchmen (also 68%) and X-Men: The Last Stand (67%), but neither of those films faced the kind of competition that Star Trek provided, so the jury is still out on Wolverine’s long term prospects.  Star Trek’s strong debut sets up an obvious competition with Wolverine for early summer season dominance, and Trek may eventually surpass Wolvie’s domestic gross, but Wolverine’s worldwide total is now $235 million, and given that Star Trek films have never done all that well overseas, it’s likely that the advantage in the global battle remains with the Marvel superhero.