MUMBAI: The opening weekend tally for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek was substantially higher than initial estimates.

The Paramount Pictures release grossed $79.2 million over the three day period in 3,849 locations, almost $3 million higher than initial estimates thanks to strong attendance on Mother’s Day. Initially, the well-reviewed adventure was expected to bring in $18.3 million on Sunday, but ended up grossing $21 million. Better than expected family attendance was credited with the upsurge.

"The spike over our initial estimates on Mother’s Day demonstrates that the combination of strong reviews and solid word-of-mouth contributed to better than anticipated attendance by families yesterday, confirming our belief that ‘Star Trek’ has a broad, multi-generational appeal," said Paramount Pictures vice chairman Rob Moore.

The movie stars John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy.