ST09 Tidbits: Trek Crosses $225M Domestically + Bana Reluctant Nero + NASA’s Lesson From Trek + more

Before it finished its fifth week at the domestic box office, Star Trek crossed the $225M mark yesterday. We have all the box office details below, plus the Trek lesson of the day (this time for NASA), Eric Bana talking about how he was reluctant to take the role of Nero, and a student project envisioning the Star Trek movie inside a mobile device.

 

Box Office Update: Trek crosses $225M domestic mark
On Wednesday Star Trek stayed in fifth place in the domestic box office, and crossed the $225M mark.

  Film Wed 6/10 Total (dom) / days
1 THE HANGOVER $6,655,228 $65,883,078 / 6
2 UP $4,718,743 $151,537,818 / 13
3 LAND OF THE LOST $1,637,265 $20,738,675 / 4
4 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2 $1,616,869 $132,024,754 / 20
5 STAR TREK $909,830 $225,473,885 / 34
6 TERMINATOR SALVATION $866,408 $108,269,685 / 21
7 DRAG ME TO HELL $727,935 $30,541,260 / 13
8 ANGELS & DEMONS $713,351 $118,374,139 / 27
9 MY LIFE IN RUINS $361,694 $4,312,054 / 6
10 X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE $214,372 $174,997,427 / 41

Internationally Star Trek picked up another $743K to bring the total international sales to $114,186,341. Star Trek’s new global total is $339,660,226.

Star Trek Lesson of the day: NASA can learn a thing or two
It seems that every day someone is talking about how someone else should learn from the new Star Trek movie. Today it is Esquire magazine that has an article "How NASA Can Keep Up With Star Trek (and China)":

Star Trek Left the ’60s Behind, but NASA’s Still Trapped in the ’70s

Hollywood director J.J. Abrams had the temerity to redesign the fictional U.S.S. Enterprise for this summer’s biggest box-office hit, indicating that even venerable Cold-War franchises from pop culture need to update themselves to capture the imagination of today’s tech-hungry masses. NASA, after more than three decades of losing itself and its way on the reusable space-shuttle program, has finally (finally!) come to the same conclusion.

Bana initially reluctant to play Nero
In a new interview with Australia’s Inside Film Eric Bana talks about his role in the Trek film and other projects. One of the more interesting bits was how he said he was initially reluctant to take on the role:

At the Star Trek world premiere JJ Abrams said he always wanted to work with you. How does a role like this come up? Did you always want to do a villain, or was it just a matter of him approaching you?

It was a combination. I’m a big fan of JJ and I always wanted a chance to work with him; I just think he’s got incredible taste and amazing skill and eye as a director. He originally wasn’t going to direct the film, he was going to produce and read the script and just fell in love with it, and realised it would just be a monster if he wasn’t directing it himself, he had such a strong reaction to it.

And I was similar, my agent told me about it, and I was like, “Mate, I really don’t think that’s going to be for me” and he said, “Trust me, just read it”. And I read it and immediately fell in love with it – 30 pages in I knew I was going to see the film regardless. I knew that whoever would play Kirk and Spock would have two of the greatest introductory roles of all time, and then Nero appeared and I saw that it was going to be a hell of a lot of fun.

It wasn’t so much that I wanted to play a villain, I just thought it was a great supporting character in a great film and had that sense of fun on the page that was there when I saw the film for the first time.


Bana wasn’t sure Trek was for him, until he read the script

Finally, Star Trek The BlackBerry Ad
A group of Kuwaiti students made BlackBerry ad for a class project, using the new Star Trek movie as a motif, complete with lens flares! The acting is a bit stiff, but that is some pretty impressive production design for a student project.

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i love star trek!

EVERY BODY! GO WATCH THIS MOVIE AGAIN! THIS WEEKK!!!!!!!

That blackberry could have been done a bit better…

Enjoyable commercial….laughed at the lens flares :)

iPhone should put one out to compete!

LLAProsper

-Captain Dunsel

Ok. Everyone here on Trek Movie. Take at least one person with you and go and see the Movie at least once this weekend. lets keep that 5th place going. Who ever does not go then you will be put in the Agoniser booth for the entire weekend. By order of the Emperior of the Terran Empire.

Okay, just got a call, and I’m going to see the movie for the 8th time :-)

Emperior!

Real Trek-NASA crossover featuring Captain Archer:
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/rtf_flash/start.html

Sorry, Capt Mike, I’ve had agonies enough. :-)

A few of those guys were darn cute. I’m going to Kuwait. They don’t execute gays like in Iran… they just imprison us.

Very nice the Ad made by Kuwaiti students, That s bring me the idea that ST turn possible the idea of his creator Gene Roddenberry, always intent to to trasmited, that was the unite people around the world,

There are no barriers…religious, political or cultural

Live long and prosper!

Very nice the Ad made by Kuwaiti students, That s bring me the idea that ST makes possible the idea of his creator Gene Roddenberry, always tried to pass, to unite people around the world,

There are no barriers…religious, political or cultural

Live long and prosper!

Where can I get a copy of the background music?

I’ve seen it 6 times, really would like to go a 7th time, but not sure how I can talk my wife into the fact that I need to see it a 7th time. lol However, she has seen it 3 times and NEVER sees Trek more than once, so who knows.

Have we passed ST-TMP in adjusted domestic gross yet?

I would LOVE to go and see the movie a SIXTH time, but it has been taken out of the theatres here… snif, snif…

#9

Just stay here in the U.S and pine after Pine. Dayum, he’s hot!

Kewl Blackberry ad!

The only thing missing was someone with Spock Ears, I guess it might be hard to find them over there. But the Ears would have made it 100% Star Trek. I’ll still give them an A for creativity, and visual aspect. Now if they could only start creating American Prime Time TV shows, in doing so they may bring back some zest and vigir to Prime Time TV.

Just got back from seeing it for the 9th time in theatres. Took another friend to see it (not a big Trek fan, but watched TNG and VOY and enjoyed the movie where Star Trek “saves the whales”), but yeah, he really enjoyed it and I’m happy to know that $100+ of Trek XI’s gross has come from me and my friends. Also, about tonight..I saw it on a Thursday night in a suburban town, in a usually booming theatre, though the theatre lobby itself was kind of empty, but the theatre Trek was in actually had a decent amount of people in it for a film 5 weeks in and they were into it, laughed, applauded, etc., very enjoyable. It still has legs! I’m gonna think of more people to bring with for that special 10th time I see it. Though this time I looked for the Easter eggs in the movie after reviewing TrekMovie’s list on them.

#4. Capt Mike of the Terran Empire

Sorry Captain, this Movie is My Agonizer booth;)

HiYo!!!

That student video was kind of awesome.

Nice find.

I just watched st of men and gods for the first time since watching jjs trek five times(so far)–Ya know, classic trek characters, a villain intent on revenge, alternate timeline,destruction of poor planet Vulcan with a planet destroying secret weapon,spaceship battles, a tribble, sheesh sound familiar anyone?

No can do. Twice was more than enough.

I will be seeing it again this weekend at a great little theater in a nearby small town that finally got it.

JMN

Ugh.

Saw it again for the umpteenth time today, overheard a man in a wheelchair with his nurse’s aide sitting next to him saying “glad I could make it to watch this one” before the movie started.

Kuwaiti students are cool. As a whole, Kuwaiti’s are quite affluent compared to US as the wealth is spread more evenly there, education system is better, so they did a good job on ad. Their English was very good as well, not too accented (possible overseas studies).

I wish I could go, but I will never get to see it in a theater, as I am deployed in Iraq… Oh, the things I sacrifice to serve my country!

Went and saw it on Weds, for the 4th time… and the cinema was full (Staines UK), and the clapped at the end!

If it’s still playing, will be seeing it for my 5th showing, next week.

#1 and #4
I’ll try, but I was planning on seeing UP this weekend. I’m planning on seeing Star Trek again with my grandpa who hasn’t seen it and wants to sometime soon.

#1: I’m going to save my money for the inevitable DVD. It’s made enough to be deemed a franchise success, and my $9 isn’t going to alter things one way or t’other. But thank you for the invitation. : )

I will see it again eventually… just have to find a girl that will see it with me…
And of course will buy a few DVDs, one for me and several as presents :D

#9 You don’t have to go to Kuwait, there are plenty of us right here!

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will put Trek’s success at the BO to shame.

But hey, at least Trek has finally made a successful run on the big screen!

Great movie, and I can’t wait for the DVD and sequel.

#4:

No Agoniser Booth for me- I’m going for the 10th time tonight! Watching it at Star Trek The Exhibition here in Philly at the Franklin Institute. Third time seeing it in IMAX, first time on a domed screen. Wonder how they’ll manage it!

I’m going for a total of twelve times, so I’m nearly there. :D

I’m throwing a party for myself when I reach my goal. XD

hi there!!
thanks for all the comments about the ad!! it means a lot to me :D im kind of new to star trek, so sorry if i didnt add all ST elements in it
but we couldnt get Spocks Ears because we didnt have a budget for this project :)

Oh crap, I forgot to mention that the BlackBerry ad is absolutely brilliant! Love it. :D

your ad’s is AmaZing i think you will be the best in doing this stuff in Kuwait

good luck my friend

your the best of the best :D

#33. Excelsior Prime wrote:
But hey, at least Trek has finally made a successful run on the big screen!

I wish people would stop saying this. Trek has long been successful on the big screen. Some key things to keep in mind:

1) TMP made over $239M adjusted domestic gross/$400M worldwide. Trek has not yet reached either milestone, though it will likely reach the domestic goal if not worldwide before it leaves theatres.

2) TWOK & TVH both grossed close to as much adjusted domestically as Trek ’09 has to date. Also, ST09 is the most expensive Trek movie made to date, with TMP running a close second. Presently, after deducting the production budget it is the third highest net grossing film and one of 8 Trek movies to make over $100M net profit over budgets and one of 3 to top $200M. From a sheer ROI (return on investment) standpoint, 8 of the twelve Trek movies were VERY successful, if not as successful as other films at the box office. In fact the only film that did not at least double its budget at the boxoffice was Nemesis.

3) TWOK was #6 at the box office in 1982, TVH was 5th in 1986, even TSFS was 9th in 1993. The rest have been in the top 20, until Insurrection and Nemesis (that puts them in the same company of contemporary films such as “The Incredible Hulk”, “Slumdog Millionare”, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, “Sex In The City”, “Rattatouille” & “FF:Silver Surfer”). ST09 will most likely finish as well as the highest performers, in the top 10 if not the top 5.

What is unique about this Trek film is that is made so much money so fast, more than any other in the franchise and as much as other similar box office “hits” it has been debuting with. You are correct it has yet to enter into “Transformer’s” territory, nor has it gained “Dark Knight”, “Spiderman”, or Star Wars territory. However, it is doing reasonably as well as others in the Summer/Holiday tentpole category – and frankly always has, until the last 2 movies. Also, it bounced back to a level not seen since the 80s TOS films, after a failed foray into TNG films.

Trek has NEVER been about its box-office success, though having no shortage of it, but rather the expansive ancillary markets for home video and merchandising. Starting with TWOK which in part helped revolutionize the home video market as we know it, every film has more than made up for its lack of “blockbuster” status in the theatres on the back-end – something the so-called billion dollar blockbuster films cannot always claim.

Did any one notice, no females? no wonder Luke wants to go there!
Otherwise, nice.

#35 Never Give Up Productions? As in “Never give up, never surrender”?

9.

Of course, you’d probably WANT to be imprisoned! : )

#39 its a males class, thats why we cant have a female in our team :( !!!

#40 it could work that way 2 :)

absolutely brilliant ad….for the 100th time..
and i’ll say it a million more…
cuz it is just that good! :-D

#1 Beat me to it! –
SEE IT AGAIN!!!

#35 –

WOW! Very impressive! Good work by all!

#10,11 –

Well said!!

Does anyone know where the music they used comes from ? The star trek trailers used this music, but i’d LOVE to download this epic song!!!
Help!

Amazing Ad, Captain was a bit stiff in the begining but towards the end everyone became amazing. Good job and cute captain ;) the camera movement was nice and the bearded guy looked very natural !

I have a friend over there and she says they don’t prosecute homosexuality, but they are not nice to them either.