J.J. Abrams has done something no other Star Trek director has ever managed: make a ton of money. The most cash any Star Trek film has made previously on its opening weekend was $30 million, earned by Star Trek: First Contact back in 1996. This weekend the first Trek prequel beamed up over $72 million.

The question is, can the movie hold up that kind of cash flow? Last weekend X-Men Origins: Wolverine kicked the summer off with a solid $85 million opening, but this weekend it plummeted a painful 70%. That kind of drop rarely happens, much less to a summer blockbuster. It may be a sign that big openings this summer don’t necessarily spell big success.

Mos Def and Scrubs star Donald Faison didn’t fare so well with their release Next Day Air. It debuted at the sixth place spot with $4 million. But look to Star Trek as a sign of the summer times, not a cheap comedy. Right now the box office is banking 15% more than it was this time last year, yet another indication that Hollywood is still drawing in the audiences no matter the world’s economic woes.

1. Star Trek * $72,500,000   -   Total: $76,500,000 LW: N     WR: 1     THTRS: 3,849

2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine $27,000,000   -   Total: $129,624,000 LW: 1     WR: 2     THTRS: 4,102

3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past $10,450,000   -   Total: $30,246,000 LW: 2     WR: 2     THTRS: 3,175

4. Obsessed $6,600,000   -   Total: $56,247,000 LW: 3     WR: 3     THTRS: 2,602

5. 17 Again $4,405,000   -   Total: $54,167,000 LW: 4     WR: 4     THTRS: 2,903

6. Next Day Air * $4,000,000   -   Total: $4,000,000 LW: N     WR: 1     THTRS: 1,138

7. The Soloist $3,605,000   -   Total: $23,501,000 LW: 6     WR: 3     THTRS: 2,090

8. Monsters Vs. Aliens $3,379,000   -   Total: $186,892,000 LW: 5     WR: 7     THTRS: 2,185

9. Earth (2009) $2,488,000   -   Total: $26,086,000 LW: 7     WR: 3     THTRS: 1,794

10. Hannah Montana The Movie $2,414,000   -   Total: $74,083,000 LW: 8     WR: 5     THTRS: 2,301