'Star Trek Beyond' soars with $59.6M at weekend box office

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

"Pets" was the second-most-popular film at theaters, adding an additional $29.3 million to its stellar $260 million earnings to date.

Despite the latest release opening $20 million behind 2009's "Star Trek," experts say it's still promising for Paramount.

Actor Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov, was killed in a freak car accident last month.

Warner Bros.' low-budget horror Lights Out tied with Ghostbusters for third place with $21.6 million, while Fox's animated Ice Age:

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.