Weekend of May 15 – 17, 2009

Ron Howard’s “Angels & Demons” topped the North American box office with $48 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The latest big-screen adaptation of one of Dan Brown’s popular novels struggled to beat J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek,” which came in close second with another $43 million this weekend. The sci-fi reboot’s domestic total currently stands at $147.6 million.

In “Angels,” Tom Hanks reprises his role as Robert Langdon, who heads to the Vatican to solve a murder and help prevent a ruthless terrorist attack. The film scored $29 million less during opening weekend than its predecessor, “The Da Vinci Code.”

At No. 3, Gavin Hood’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” collected $14.8 million, lifting its total haul to $151 million after three weeks in release. The film’s domestic gross already passed its estimated $150 million budget.

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Weekend of May 8 - 10, 2009

Moviegoers beamed J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot to the No. 1 spot at the North American box office with a solid $72.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and Simon Pegg, among others, "Trek" lifted its early domestic total to $76.5 million (counting revenues from Thursday's evening screenings).

Last week's box office winner "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" dropped to second place, earning $27 million. Directed by Gavin Hood and starring Hugh Jackman, Danny Huston and Liev Schreiber, the film brought its total haul to $129.6 million after two weeks in theaters.

At No. 3, Mark Waters' comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" collected another $10.4 million, reaching a cumulative gross of $30.2 million. Beyonce Knowles' thriller "Obsessed" followed in fourth place with a weekend gross of $6.6 million and a cume of $56.2 million.

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J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" landed at the No. 1 spot at the North American box office Friday with $24 million in ticket sales. Adding the $7 million the film earned from Thursday's evening screenings, its domestic total already stands at $31 million.

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and Simon Pegg star in the sci-fi blockbuster, which opened Friday at 3,849 locations. "Trek" will easily take home the weekend box office crown.

At No. 2, last week's champion "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" collected another $8.5 million, bringing its total gross to $111.1 million after only one week in theaters. Directed by Gavin Hood, the film stars Hugh Jackman in the role of Wolverine, who seeks revenge against William Stryker and Victor Creed.

Meanwhile, Mark Waters' latest romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" earned $3.1 million in third place, lifting its cumulative gross to $22.9 million. Following at No. 4 was "Obsessed," which took home $2 million for a total haul of $51.6 million.

"Next Day Air," this week's second wide release, finished fifth with $1.4 million. The Benny Boom-directed action comedy stars Donald Faison, Mike Epps and Mos Def.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)