The opening weekend tally for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek was substantially higher than initial estimates. The Paramount Pictures release grossed $79.2 million over the three day period in 3,849 locations, almost $3 million higher than initial estimates thanks to strong attendance on Mother's Day. Initially, the well-reviewed adventure was expected to bring in $18.3 million on Sunday, but ended up grossing $21 million. Better than expected family attendance was credited with the upsurge.

"The spike over our initial estimates on Mother's Day demonstrates that the combination of strong reviews and solid word-of-mouth contributed to better than anticipated attendance by families yesterday, confirming our belief that 'Star Trek' has a broad, multi-generational appeal," said Rob Moore, Vice-Chairman of Paramount Pictures.

IMAX Corporation also says that the film shattered numerous records for IMAX theaters:

IMAX Corporation and Paramount Pictures today announced that Star Trek: The IMAX Experience, directed by J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible III, Lost and Alias), shattered virtually every opening weekend IMAX box office record, posting $8.5 million from 138 IMAX® theatres domestically. The limited IMAX run registered a per screen average of approximately $62,000 for the weekend, marking the highest grossing Friday, Saturday and Sunday ever for an IMAX opening. IMAX's domestic opening contributed 11% of the hit film's overall domestic box office gross of $79.2 million on less than 2% of the screens.

The IMAX release also broke records internationally, generating more than $1.1 million from 25 IMAX screens, for a per screen average of $44,000, bringing the worldwide IMAX box office to $9.6 million.

Star Trek has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology.

"We couldn't be happier with the overall performance of the film and we're particularly pleased with the incredibly strong performance of the expanding IMAX network. The enhanced image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience is clearly resonating with moviegoers," said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman, Paramount Pictures.

"Star Trek blew away virtually all of our opening weekend box office records," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "These strong results further validate our digital rollout and joint revenue sharing model with exhibitors and customers. The only factor limiting our box office performance this weekend was that our theatres were essentially at capacity, even with our expanding network. We anticipate continued strong performance through next weekend as the film is only scheduled to play in wide release in IMAX theatres for ten more days."

"This weekend demonstrates that, regardless of whether a film is in 2D or 3D, the power of The IMAX Experience continues to drive audiences at record levels to IMAX theatres worldwide," added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "Paramount Pictures really understands the power of bringing two great brands together, especially with a visionary director like J.J. Abrams, who had the foresight to recognize that IMAX and Star Trek are a perfect match. He has created an amazing film that perfectly aligns The IMAX Experience with Star Trek fans in addition to a much wider audience that reaches beyond devoted Trekkies."

Star Trek was released May 8th, 2009 and stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg. The film is directed by J.J. Abrams.