‘Star Trek Beyond’ debuts to stellar box-office results

“Star Trek Beyond” has landed atop the weekend box office.

Paramount’s latest outing with the Starship Enterprise soared to $59.6 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, knocking Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets” from the No. 1 spot.

“Pets” fell to second place, adding an additional $29.3 million to its stellar $260 million earnings over the past three weeks.

“Star Trek Beyond” is the third film in the rebooted franchise that kicked off with J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek.” This latest film opened $20 million behind that 2009 release, but experts say the returns are still promising for Paramount.

“This is a solid enough debut to tell them there’s still enough interest in ‘Star Trek’ to keep this franchise alive,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker comScore.

“Star Trek Beyond” opened in line with industry expectations, he said, despite the unexpected death last month of 27-year-old actor Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov.

“The tragic passing of Anton Yelchin made it bittersweet for fans,” Dergarabedian said. “I don’t think that took away anything from the film. Fans can pay their respects to Yelchin by watching him on the screen.”

“The Secret Life of Pets” and “Ghostbusters” bested — or tied — the weekend’s other new releases. Warner Bros.’ low-budget horror “Lights Out” opened with $21.6 million Fox’s animated “Ice Age: Collision Course” opened with $21 million.