The recent success of shows such as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has proven that the Star Trek franchise remains a crowd pleaser after nearly 60 years. And from its big-screen debut in the 1979 all the way to today, Star Trek has drawn its fandom to theaters in droves to see the latest epic.
From modern entries such as Star Trek Into Darkness to classic adventures such as The Wrath of Khan, nearly every piece of Trek cinema has been a certified hit. Despite this success, some of the films in the franchise earned much more than others, and according to Box Office Mojo, they raked in the most cash.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) - $78,912,623
Considered by many to be the best of the Star Trek: The Original Series movies, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan offered fans a much more mature version of the characters they had known and loved. The film follows Admiral James T. Kirk, as he chafes against his new desk job and longs for the old days. Meanwhile, an old foe in Khan Noonien-Singh returns to get revenge against Kirk and his crew.
With a much smaller budget than its predecessor, Wrath of Khan was forced to rely on great storytelling, and the film succeeded. Making quite a tidy profit, the film was enough to prove the viability of a Star Trek movie franchise after the disappointment of the first film.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) - $82,604,699
Gene Roddenberry spent years pursuing other projects before he finally got enough traction to bring Star Trek back. Star Trek: The Motion Picture saw the Enterprise pressed into action when a mysterious space probe begins wreaking havoc on the galaxy.
Slickly produced and mimicking other sci-fi films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, the first Trek film left many fans scratching their heads in confusion. Roddenberry's vision of a second phase of Trek looked nothing like The Original Series, and it generally failed to live up to expectations. Nevertheless, enough curious fans went to see the film that it grossed quite a bit of money for its time.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) - $96,888,996
Capturing the political zeitgeist of the time, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country sent the original crew off into the sunset with a thrilling political mystery story. After the Klingon empire is weakened by a power plant disaster, they call on the Federation for help for the first time. In the midst of the historic peace negotiations, a prominent Klingon diplomat is murdered and all signs point towards Captain Kirk.
As the crew aged, it became increasingly necessary to adjust what they could and couldn't do on screen. Therefore, the sixth film is a clever and intriguing thriller that relies heavily on its mystery storyline as opposed to edge-of-the-seat action. With the help of burgeoning foreign markets, The Undiscovered Country was a surprisingly profitable final film for most of Trek's finest.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) - $109,713,132
Concluding the trilogy of dour films that started with Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, took the franchise in a decidedly comedic direction. When the earth is threatened by a mysterious space probe, the crew must travel back to the 1980s in order to return with a humpback whale, the only creature that can communicate with the probe.
While the second and third films in the franchise were dark action thrillers, The Voyage Home leaned into its silly premise and was appropriately tongue-in-cheek. By relying less on sci-fi, and more on heart, the film attracted a much larger audience that came to the theater in droves to see the spectacle.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) - $112,587,658
Feeling more like a two-part episode of The Next Generation, and less like a feature film, Star Trek: Insurrection stumbled critically but did well commercially. While on a diplomatic mission to the planet Ba'ku, the crew of the Enterprise discover a dark conspiracy to displace the peaceful inhabitants of the planet.
After the exciting adventure that was Star Trek: First Contact, Insurrection felt like a slowing of pace and a lowering of stakes. The film still did well at the box office, but that was most likely due to fans coming to see a followup to the last film, and being sorely disappointed.
Star Trek: Generations (1994) - $118,071,125
Coming as a proverbial passing of the torch, Star Trek: Generations united both eras of Trek in one blockbuster film. In the 23rd century, Captain Kirk saves the newly minted Enterprise from disaster but is taken into a time nexus and presumed dead. Meanwhile, in the 24th century, Captain Picard must enter the nexus and team up with Kirk to stop someone from altering time.
Though somewhat clunky in its execution, Generations was nevertheless a treat for Trek fans and introduced the audience at large to Star Trek: The Next Generation crew members. As a curiosity piece alone, the film attracted huge numbers of moviegoers, and wasn't a bad start to the TNG film franchise.
Star Trek: First Contact (1996) - $146,027,888
After a slew of great Borg episodes during the series, Star Trek: First Contact casts the terrifying cyborgs as its main villain. During a battle with The Borg, the Enterprise follows an escaping ship that travels back in time in order to prevent humanity from ever making first contact with the Vulcans.
Though many Trek purists lamented the way that the film handled the characters, First Contact was nevertheless an epic action adventure film that had universal appeal. It played fast and loose with Trek lore, but it had all of the necessary ingredients to rake in a mountain of cash at the box office.
Star Trek Beyond (2016) - $343,471,816
Referred to as the "Kelvin Universe", the J.J. Abrams backed Star Trek trilogy was quite different from its predecessors. Star Trek Beyond finds the Enterprise crew stranded on a hostile planet after its dictator attacks their ship in order to secure a priceless artifact.
Eschewing the clever and diplomatic tone of the older Trek properties, Star Trek Beyond gave viewers a heaping helping of violent action and flashy CGI. All of the Kelvin movies performed well at the box office, but Beyond noticed a slight dip in returns from the films that came before.
Star Trek (2009) - $385,680,446
After Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled in 2005, Trek fans were left adrift for several years without any new content. However, Star Trek arrived on the scene and attempted to reboot the franchise as a brand new film series with its own continuity. The film follows the Enterprise crew as they attempt stop an evil Romulan named Nero from exacting his revenge against all mankind.
Star Trek was nothing if it wasn't crowd pleasing, and it managed to reboot the characters and reintroduce them in a fun and exciting way. Though the plot was convoluted, many fans were happy to see classic stars like Leonard Nimoy reprise their roles in the film. All of those details combined to make Star Trek a certified success at the box office.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) - $467,365,246
After the rousing success of Star Trek, fans were once again welcomed to the Kelvin Universe with Star Trek Into Darkness. Kirk is a man on a mission after an act of terrorism sabotages nearly all of Starfleet's armada. In his quest for revenge, Kirk must track down the evil man who was responsible for the attack.
Drawing parallels with The Wrath of Khan, Into Darkness even introduces the titular villain in their film as well. Aping off of the success of its predecessor, the film rang hollow because it lacked the emotional depth present in Wrath of Khan. Despite that, it still delivered the copious amounts of action that modern moviegoers crave, and it grossed a tremendous amount of money both domestically and internationally.