Early Returns: 'Lights Out' Moves Past 'Ice Age', 'Star Trek Beyond' Takes the Lead

Star Trek Beyond took in $5.5 million during Thursday night previews this week, keeping the film in line with projections that have it earning between $50 and $60 million for the weekend. That will probably be enough to make Star Trek the top movie of the week, but the real competition looks like it will be between the other two new wide releases.

Ice Age: Collision Course took in only $850,000 on Thursday night. That doesn't seem like much, but kid-friendly animated films generally do better over the weekend than they do during week-night previews. The Angry Birds Movie did comparable business on its preview night and then went on to earn $38 million over its opening weekend. Ice Age is getting terrible reviews, though, and it faces competition from other animated films, such as The Secret Life Of Pets and Finding Dory, that are still in theaters.

The week's third new release, the horror film Lights Out, performed well on Thursday night, taking in $1.8 million. That's on a par with other low-budget horror films that have gone on to successful runs, and it suggests that Lights Out could pull down in excess of $20 million over the weekend. That's way ahead of projections, and in conjunction with good reviews, could set the tone for a strong run over the long term.