Sure, it’s not the biggest box office opening weekend ever, but for a Star Trek film opening in the second weekend in May, with a blockbuster a week ahead of it (Wolverine), it passed the test with flying colors.
What test? How about “Will people turn out in droves for a Star Trek movie despite the “geek” stereotype?”
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Inflation adjusted (to make it more fair for previous films) J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek blew away the opening weekend numbers of every Trek film that came before. In the final analysis, it earned $75.2 million from Friday through Sunday, with an additional $4 million on the late Thursday opening – bringing its total to $79.2 million.
For a Star Trek movie.
Sweet!
Here are the opening weekend numbers of all Trek films for comparison:
| Movie | Adj Opening Wkend |
| Star Trek: The Motion Picture | $34MM |
| Star Trek II | $35MM |
| Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | $36MM |
| Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | $33MM |
| Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | $31MM |
| Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | $31MM |
| Star Trek Generations | $40MM |
| Star Trek First Contact | $50MM |
| Star Trek Insurrection | $34MM |
| Star Trek Nemesis | $23MM |
| Star Trek | $73MM |
As you can see the only previous film that came even remotely close was Star Trek: First Contact, the first fully Next Generation film (and the last good Star Trek film). After that it got ugly with fan support dwindling… and of course if you listen to the folks behind those movies it wasn’t because the movies were getting worse, it was the fans fault for not showing up to “support” the films.
Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt, folks.
Oh, and lest you look at the earlier films and snicker, keep in mind that the earlier films didn’t open on as many screens so just couldn’t get higher than a certain point on that first weekend – they were actually remarkably steady in their first weekend numbers.
In any case, the latest Star Trek film looks like it’s going to re-ignite the franchise in a big way. Personally, although I’m an old fart classic Trek fan, I’m generally happy with the new film and am just super-excited that we’ll be getting more of them.
And it’s not even close to being done, yet. While Wolverine dropped a precipitous 69% in its second weekend (a worse drop than the oft-slammed X-Men 3), I’m betting that Star Trek will have “legs.” I think the opening weekend box office would have been even bigger were it not for the stigma attached to being someone who watches Star Trek (sorry folks, it’s true). However those brave souls who risked being labeled nerds were treated to a movie that they’re now recommending to all their friends who weren’t quite so brave.
Not only is it the type of film that you can see more than once and still be entertained, it’s going to have the kind of word of mouth that will bouy it on its second weekend and beyond (our onsite poll shows 90% of people who saw it rate it at least 4 out of 5 stars). Plus of course we have the “hot guy” factor with Chris Pine as the new Kirk – sure to draw in the women-folk.
I’m betting we see little more than a 50% drop next weekend, and I’ll be adding my ticket purchase to that total.
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76 Comments
I had a feeling the 100 million dollar hype was overblown for this movie, but Star Trek still performed better than I expected. I though $55-$60 Million would have been phenomenal. The bar is now set for the future sequels… anyone know if J.J. Abrams is directing future installments?
I am a scifi fan who likes trek, I grew up on TOS that makes me an old fart too! I have seen every trek episode and every movie, TOS was magical, as was there even # movies, on nxt gen it did not have the magic as a whole maybe 6 episodes a year did, DS9 maybe a dozen episodes out of the 7 years did, Voyager again 6 or 7 episodes a year, Enterprise waste of time till season 4 the magic was back!!! O I hated to see it cancelled, 1st Contact had the magic, 9 & 10 worst trek ever, for any film but especially one with a cult status (not as big an audiance) You have to have a good story & Plot, as well as good cast interplay! There was no fan support in my opinion for 9 & 10 and TV cause the story telling got very poor, Now with 11 WOW THE MAGIC IS BACK!!!
I am looking forward to more from these actors, and there was no violation of cannon either! Some will say there was, and to them I say watch it a second time, and pay attention to the plot, as it is immpossible to have a violation of cannon due to the plot of the film. JJ made the differance with this movie, as he brough freash ideas to the franchise, which is what Manny Coto did for Enterprise in season 4, had he been in charge from the first episode Enterprise would have made seven years and more!!! Later BC
I bet Wolverine would’nt have dropped 69% if it hadn’t gone against Trek in it’s 2nd weekend. I wouldn’t be surprised if both Trek and Wolverine held their own against Angels and Demons next week. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Trek was #1 again next week.
I’m betting you’re right about the film having legs, Vic. I’ve had friends recommend it to me, who didn’t know I had already seen it. Friends are asking me about whether it’s good or not. And I’m definitely recommending it to friends.
Compare that to Wolverine’s opening, I heard NOTHING from people about it that weekend. It was as if the movie didn’t even exist. Which is sad, but it was no surprise that Wolverine had such a big drop.
If my experience is typical, Star Trek should have a very good second weekend.
I won’t be seeing it for a second time but I wouldn’t be shocked if it beats angels n demons.
It looks like we picked up quite a few new fans .
Very sweet indeed.
I’ve already seen it twice. I found out Thursday wasn’t just midnight showings around me and busted humps down to the theater to stand in line. Even got “interviewed” by the local kindling provider, err, sorry, “news” rag.
Very, very fun movie. I was caught a few times almost by suprise as to character depth and interplay, and the humor is right where it needs to be, and right when it is there.
If you haven’t seen it yet, what the frell are you waiting for?
I don’t agree that first contact was the last good film. I thought Nemesis was very well done and doesn’t get half the credit that it deserves.
Sorry BC I don’t agree, but it’s fine if you like TOS, but don’t bash TNG. It was a far superior show you can’t even question that it had better acting and was actually a serious show. If you liked TOS better fine, but lets be honest here.
TNG better, Daniel? A captain who consults a touchy-feely counselor before doing almost anything?
@Daniel F
Sorry, I didn’t like Nemesis at all – it was their attempt to be dark and edgy and it didn’t work for me.
And I agree with Sharpe, I think if they did TNG *now* it would be a great hit with the Obama generation. Leadership by consensus and committee, checking with a “counselor” before making decisions, political correctness to the hilt. Ugh.
I mean I enjoyed it at the time, but while I can re-watch TOS episodes I actually find TNG episodes to be the ones that seem cheesy.
Vic
I’m not much of a Trek fan, but I enjoyed “nemesis” alot and frigin loved this film
I loved the film, and even my girlfriend – who doesn’t like sci-fi – loved it. How much? Well, we are both going to see it again tonight! Rebooting Star Trek is like shooting a bullet with a smaller bullet while blindfolded and riding a horse. And they hit the nail right on the head.
The only reason Wolvie made soo much was because there was nothing to challenge it. If Wolvie came out the same time as Trek, that adamantium laced mutant wouldn’t have stood a chance against anti-matter torpedoes. I too believe Trek will still be number 1 after this weekend.
I would be surprised if it was number one again.
Not that I give a poop about Monsters and Angels.
I just hope that Abrams doesn’t start cranking out remakes of Wrath of Kahn or some of the famous tv episodes. As hard as it is for JJ, I hope we get something original for a sequel.
You think TNG is Cheesy Vic and yet you watch Tos ?
I think Nemesis is a great movie.
TNG, DS9, Voy, and Enterprise all had great casts and some great episodes. Who doesn’t agree that Manny Coto knocked Enterprise season 4 out of the park!!!!
(Imo)
Nemesis had an out of touch director, and frankly Stewart and Spiner had too much say in the direction of their characters. They also have some deal where they are both in the (Star Trek) film or neither of them are…
Hi Daniel F, I was posting my observations as a Scifi Fan,TOS got me into scifi, I loved many of the films of the 50s and 60s in rerun on tv, opinions will vary from person to person, but the box office reciepts tell the story and the last two films did not do well, while some may have liked them most did not (and unfortunatly it is the larger #s that determine what we get), and they did not go back a second time, had nothing good to say so no word of mouth advertising for either 9 or 10, and that is very important for films in recent years, as we have all seen trailers that looked great, only to find out that the trailer was the best part of the film, and was dissappionted by the film as a whole, but when we hear from a friend or even an aquantace how good a movie was, that really can fire us up to see it. I did see 11 twice on friday night 7 and 9:30 and tonight (tues)I am going back to see it again!!! I hadnt seen a movie twice in one night in 30 years, and not 3 times since the 1st star wars, Boy this 11th star trek is GOOD!!! And I think JJ will keep future stories origanl with touching on enough establihed trek, to make good films, Later BC
I actually thought Nemesis was better than Insurrection, but I liked them both. I REALLY wish they had done a full-blown TNG timeline movie spectacular with TNG, DS9 and Voyager all in the film. I don’t know, Borg or some unknown threat. I would LOVE to see a film with “Q” in it. I know it’s never gonna happen, though. It would’ve been a great ride.
I have yet to see the new film (GF was sick last weekend), but I am hoping to see it in IMAX tomorrow.
Here’s my Trek film favorites list…
1) The Voyage Home
The Final Frontier
2) The Wrath of Khan
3) The Search for Spock
4) The Undiscovered Country
5) First Contact
6) Star Trek 1
7) Generations
9) Nemesis
10) Insurrection
3 and 4 can flip flop, depending on my mood.
I don’t see how the new film, no matter how good, can break my top 2. Those are 2 of my all-time favorite films, and might be the only 2 I end up buying on Blu-Ray when I upgrade to that.
What’s everyone else’s favorite Trek film?
Andy, I actually wrote a treatment for a TNG film that would have included some of the characters of all the series. It was set after Nemesis and delt with containing the Mirror version of the Borg. The subplot was the peace treaty with the Romulans.
^
Also fyi, today the first 6 Star Trek films have been released on Bluray with a cargo deck full of special features.
Oh yeah my fav Star Trek film would be “First Contact”
790, First Contact was a great movie and it was everything that Generations SHOULD have been. Ahh, can you imagine if somehow Kirk ended up fighting the Borg alongside Picard?
That sounds like a pretty cool plot for a Trek movie. I absolutely LOVED Avery Brooks as Captain Sisko. One of the strongest Trek characters ever, IMO.
Yeah I agree, DS9 was such a great show, (had the best theme also-imo)Depending on Avery’s availability he would have had a major role in the story… No Picard or Kirk however. I wrote the treatment for the B team and characters that would have agreed to not take huge salaries. During the time when I wrote it, talk about a new Trek film was being thrown out because the A team, (Stewart, Spiner etc.) would have cost to much money.
It was titled, “Star Trek, The Collective”. The mirror version of the Borg were creating a spacial anomoly/gateway to resupply the Borg in our universe. As they were destroyed by Voyager,,,
First Contact is my number one trek film and no TOS film would make my list. I thought Star Trek was incredibly stupid until I saw TNG. I considered TOS to be an insult to SCi Fi. It made fun of it’s self in every episode and never really told a series story. The movies told a more serious story, but they were so plagued with the show and the same terrible acting that I couldn’t take them serious. Anything with Shatner is impossible for me to take serious the man is a joke of an actor. TNG was full of amazing actors serious story lines and a message. Whether you like a counselor on the ship or not at least TNG had depth. People like to say TOS had a message, but it really didn’t it was just a lame cheesy show with horrible acting. It was an insult to Sc Fi and the Trek shows that came after it.
Daniel you sound a little out of touch. You realize that TOS broke all kinds of new ground on network tv at the time.
Back then 1966 NBC refused to air it because the second in command was a female. They freaked out even more when Kirk kissed Uhura, cause she was black.
(Different times)
Every single episode had a social message some more obvious then others.
Shatner acted that way because he was trying to make the show believable and that was the best way he knew how to do it.
I respect your opinion but when you say that TOS made fun of itself your wrong, it was just a different time. 1960’s.
Roddenberry was slipping in anti government, anti war, anti racism, anti hatred, all under every network suits nose by using Sci-fi as a way to tell the story. Man’s a genius. Roddenberry and Serling both were geniuses.
Saw Trek twice, enjoyed it more the second time.
What I’d like to see is a comparisons of not only the production budgets alongside these weekend numbers, but of marketing budgets.
@Daniel F
Oh, just stop it. Just because you look at it now through the goggles of a young person looking back at a 40 year old show doesn’t make it cheesy. AT THE TIME it was NOT cheesy. You want cheesy, look at the Adam West Batman show or Lost in Space, both which aired at the same time.
The show tackled racism, civil rights and other social issues. At the time it aired, NO other shows even DARED touch the topics they tackled. You have to look at it within the context of the time in which it was made. Heck, back then I looked back at Flash Gordon and thought THAT was cheesy, so maybe I shouldn’t blame you.
But what drove me INSANE about TNG was it’s weak, limp-wristed view of the future. All touchy-feely and soft. I was ecstatic when they introduced the Borg – a villain that could not be negotiated with and was just brutal and focused on destruction/assimilation. Hell, in the episode where Q introduced them he actually said what I just did: The Federation needed a reality check, everything in the universe was not soft and puffy and could be resolved via a “dialogue” (gag me).
Sure, TOS had it’s share of dorky episodes, but so did TNG.
Vic
I don’t see much difference between the old Batman Show and TOS. Sorry Vic, but Saturday morning cartoons do anti racism with more depth than TOS. Batman was cheesy then to, but it tried to tell moral messages as well. Didn’t make it suck any less. As much as I despise the old Batman show and consider it an insult to the character as cheesy as I found it to be I still thought it was better and less cheesy than TOS. The movies were less cheesy, but were still so horribly plagued with Shatners god awful acting that I couldn’t bring my self to enjoy them. I’m all for hanging on to your child hood we all do it I’m just saying looking at un biased it’s clearly not a very good show. I still love certain things from my child hood, but I would never make the argument that they were great shows I accept that they were pretty bad, but i’ll still watch them to latch on to my early years.
790 your telling me that the only way Shatner could make it realistic was to be as unrealistic as possible and to pause for a day or two in the middle of a sentence? Also Shatner acted like that in every single thing he has ever done. He is simply a bad actor. Even if your trying to say that he was only trying to make it realistic. Hell that makes it worse because it was the exact opposite of realism.
Well you obviously look at Shatner with a different perspective. You prob wouldn’t like my dvd collection, pity,,,
I will say this, he has a bigger fanbase then you Daniel.
He must be doing something right/wrong ?
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