J.J. Abrams' space epic sequel "Star Trek Into Darkness" opened to a 70.56-million-US-dollar three-day weekend, elbowing "Iron Man 3" out of the top place in the box office derby in North America.

The debut is less than the 75.2 million dollar opening that director/producer Abrams' "Star Trek" debuted to four years ago, but strong enough to dethrone "Iron Man 3," a Robert Downy Jr. starrer from Walt Disney Co., which settled for the second place with a 35.18-million-dollar gate.

The 12th installment in the iconic "Star Trek" sci-fi franchise, which opened on Wednesday night, is estimated to take in 84.09 million dollar worth of tickets during the Thursday-Sunday period, which stays in the low end of the 100 million dollar opening that distributor Paramount Pictures had projected.

The 190 million-dollar space saga received positive reviews from audiences and critics as well. Aside from earning a coveted " A" CinemaScore from those who have seen it, the flick also garnered an 87 percent positive rating on reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

The 3-D adaptation stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto who reprise Captain James T. Kirk and Spock, respectively. British actor Benedict Cumberbatch plays John Harris, the rogue Starfleet agent who resorts to terrorism to threaten Earth.

The movie also features 30 minute of extra sequences shot by Abrams using high-resolution cameras in a bid to woo IMAX moviegoers.

The film was co-financed by Paramount and Skydance Productions. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions also involved in the production.

"Iron Man 3," in theaters in third week, is on track for a 35.2- million-dollar gate. The Marvel Comics character adaptation, released by Disney, has grossed 337.1-million-dollar worth of tickets from the North American market, and 1.07 billion dollars from around the world.

"The Great Gatsby," a Baz Luhrmann directed love story which is released by Warner Bros., sees its second week haul drop by 53 percent, finishing in third with a 23.4-million-dollar weekend. It is on pace for a 90.16-million-dollar two-week gross.

All told, the North America box office has notched a 150- million-dollar gross, up 10 percent from last year when " Battleship" hit theaters.

Paramount's "Pain and Gain" finished in fourth with 3.1 million dollars worth of tickets. The Michael Bay-directed comedy has raked in 46.57 million dollars during four weeks of exhibition. DreamWorks Animation's 3-D animated comedy "The Croods," which has been shown for 9 weeks, is fifth with 2.75 million dollars.