Star Trek Franchise at the box-office

11 movies so far... and the 12th is on its way! That is what the Star Trek TV series which began in 1966 has unleashed to the big screens. The first movie though released 10 years after the series had been cancelled in 1969 due to weak ratings. Maybe the success of another space saga, a certain Star Wars of 1977 played a part, maybe the popularity of the reruns of the original Star Trek TV series. Whatever be the reasons, we aren't complaining! 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture released in December 1979 and earned a then record of $11.8 million for the opening weekend in North America, more than even Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Note that the production budget too of Star Trek: The Motion Picture was four times that of Star Wars! The film though is said largely to have received weak reviews, but remains till date the biggest grosser of the series in worldwide revenues (adjusting for inflation). A Star Trek movie then followed usually after every two to three year period until the weakest of the lot, Star Trek: Nemesis released in 2002, putting a halt to the movie franchise. Step in J.J. Abrams and the reinvention of Star Trek in 2009, which grossed $258 million in North America alone. The impact of Star Trek across the globe can still be considered to be much weaker than the likes of Star Wars and many other sci-fi films, as displayed in a rather modest earnings of $128 million in markets outside North America for 2009's Star Trek. That may very well change in 2013 as Star Trek Into Darkness makes its way. The buzz is strong and I would be surprised if it does not turn out to be the biggest hit of the franchise yet. 

So here, have a look at the domestic earnings (after adjusting for inflation) and worldwide box-office earnings (not adjusted for inflation) of the movies in the Star Trek franchise.  

9 Directors, 14 Academy Nominations, and 34 years since the original movie, Star Trek is back in popular culture... and in a few years the legendary battles between fans of Star Trek and  Star Wars could well be heating up once again. Fingers crossed!

Graph: The complete names of the movies of the Star Trek Franchise (as shown in the graph from left to right) are: 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Star Trek (2009)