The gods surpassed the scientists at the box office this weekend, as Dan Brown’s first novel, “Angels & Demons”, hit the big screen, hurling the beloved “Star Trek” into the second-place dimension.

Directed by Ron Howard, “Angels & Demons” took $48 million on its opening weekend, according to box office trackers Nielsen EDI. “Angels & Demons” is the first in Brown’s chronology following the exploits of archaeologist Professor Harry Langdon, played by Tom Hanks, as he uncovers mystical secrets surrounding the Roman Catholic Church. Brown’s mega-hit “The Da Vinci Code” took in $77 million its opening weekend three years ago and flamed the fires of conspiracy theorists internationally.

“Star Trek” scored $43 million over the weekend for a two week total of $147 million, while Hugh Jackman’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” lagged well behind with $14.8 million. “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” chugged along with $6.86 million, while “Obsessed” bottomed out the top five with $4.55 million.

Final figures are released on Monday.


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Box Office Grosses
Week Ending May 17, 2009

Rank Title Weekend Total Gross
1 Angels & Demons (2009) $48M $48M
2 Star Trek (2009) $43M $148M
3 X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) $14.8M $151M
4 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) $6.86M $40.1M
5 Obsessed (2009) $4.55M $62.6M
6 17 Again (2009) $3.4M $58.4M
7 Monsters vs Aliens (2009) $3M $191M
8 The Soloist (2009) $2.42M $27.5M
9 Next Day Air (2009) $2.28M $7.65M
10 Earth (2007) $1.68M $29.1M