After all the early premieres and early shows on Thursday the big opening day for Star Trek in the US and many countries around the world is exactly three weeks from today. In a quick Friday morning tidbits we have news on a special event at Playstation Home, more details on Trek marketing tie-ins, early box office predictions from Ad Age, and news on an Irish early premiere.
Tickets available online (including IMAX)
You can now by advanced tickets (including early shows) for Star Trek at Fandango. You can also get tickets for IMAX at Fandango.
JJ Abrams and Chris Pine Coming to Playstation Home
The ‘Playstation Home’ is a 3D social gaming community that allows PLAYSTATION3 users to meet, chat, plan, and launch into games together. Using it you can create your own custom avatar, decorate a personal apartment, play mini-games, shop, watch videos and attend special events. And at 4pm (GMT) on April 20th, Star Trek director J.J. Abrams along with the new Kirk and Spock (Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto) will visit Home for an exclusive Q&A with selected press and bloggers from around the world. Following the Q&A, the invited guests will be able to take part in a virtual roundtable within Home, to discuss the movie and answer questions put forward by fans and fellow bloggers through Twitter, uStream and CoverItLive. Both events will be streamed live across the web (TrekMovie will put up the live stream in an embeddable player on the 20th).
To build up to the event, starting tomorrow PlayStation Home residents will be able to view an exclusive video greeting from J.J Abrams alongside the latest Star Trek trailer in the Home Theatre. And starting on April 23rd a selection of virtual Star Trek merchandise (Starfleet Uniforms and T-Shirts) will be available in the Threads Store, alongside details of a unique ‘Star Trek in Home Avatar competition’ and the ‘Star Trek Party (in Home)’ where attendees will have the chance to grab some exclusive merchandise and prizes.
Star Trek Marketing Tie-in blitz – Nokia/Verizon is next
The Hollywood reporter has an overview of the marketing tie-ins for the new Star Trek. It covers much of what has been reported here previously regarding Lenovo, Kellogg’s, Burger King, and Esurance, but has some new info (including confirming that Kellogg’s will have a ‘Star Trek’ cereal). The biggest bit of new detail is confirmation that there is a tie-in with Nokia and Verizon, and there will be TV commercials for this which were shot on the bridge of the USS Enterprise (just like Burger King’s coming TV spot). More details at THR.
Is the blitz enough? Ad Age says Wolverine will beat Star Trek
Although the new Star Trek film has all the major tie-ins, a huge multi-target ad campaign, stars appearing on all the big magazines, and more, the analysis at Ad Age
(using MarketTrack data) are saying that Wolverine will claw past Star Trek, making twice as much on its opening weekend. They claim Paramount has actually been marketing the Star Trek film too much to the installed base (that would be us). Only time will tell. More at AdAge.
Who will win in the battle of Trek vs. Wolverine?
Irish Star Trek early premiere April 28th
Like much of the rest of the world, Star Trek opens wide in Ireland on May 8th. Although the Emerald Isle is not on JJ Abrams world tour itinerary, it appears there still will be an advance preview in Dublin on April 28th. The show is at the The Savoy at 8PM. There won’t be any Trek celebs, but there will be local celebrities at the event. Tickets will also be given away in contests in the local media. One such contest is being held already at Entertainment.IE. Apparently local radio stations will also be doing contests (see keep your ear out for more).
Much more to come from TrekMovie on Friday
TrekMovie has more articles lined up today:
- Viral ARG Update
- Preview of JJ Abrams ‘guest edit’ issue of WIRED
- Cast interview excerpts from SciFiNow and more
- Report from Berlin press conference
- Review of 6" & 12" Playmates Star Trek figures
- A FanMade update from Farragut
- …and maybe more
Thanks to Marko and Ronan and others who sent in tips
20 days!!!!
Star Trek will crush puny Wolverine!
Ok, this is cool. I have Home, I’ll have to try it out.
That cartoon graphic has me thinking, will we get to see Spock use the Vulcan Neck Pinch in the new movie?
Amazing how different the perspectives on the marketing campaign are. We’ve got hardcore Trek fans saying the marketing isn’t catered to them at all, and now we have an industry outlet saying they’re marketing to the fanbase *too* much.
I think I’ll just wait till the film hits and see what happens :)
Wolverine has negative buzz, especially after that leak. It’s going to drop like a rock after its first weekend. Everything I’ve heard about Trek has been very positive. I think it’ll bury Wolverine out of the gate.
Who cares if it makes more or less than Wolverine? As long as it is enough to finance a new movie I am happy.
Now how about a ST tv show? ;)
I think that Wolverine will do well opening weekend, but falls to #2 when ST09 opens. I think ST09 opens at #1, and holds steady in the top 2-3 for the next 2-3 weeks.
I do think that the overwhelmingly positive reviews will come down to Earth a bit when it opens to the general public, but I am pleasantly surprised not to have seen a single poor review by anyone who has actually seen it (even from those who went in fully prepared to rip it apart).
Wolverine is pretty awful. I, uh, heard…
I think Star Trek will be in the top 3 of the year, 1 Transformers, 2 Harry Potter, 3 Star Trek
As long as it’s a good film that performs well enough to ensure Trek’s survival, I’ll be pleased.
That said, I wouldn’t mind if Spock put the neck pinch on Hugh Jackman.
I dont think the ladies will be clawing over Simon Pegg when they have Wolverine, sorry love Star Trek…..But reality is most ladies see the words Star Trek and think well lets face it geeks or nerds….
Then they have these previews with a bulked up muscular Hugh Jackman…So Wolverine now has TWO areas compared to Star Trek’s ONE.
They have the Fandom in there corner AND the women who like Hugh Jackman..
All Star Trek has is “I like this ship its exciting” Still 35-55 million for star trek opening weekend isnt bad, and if it makes 110 million overall that would be good for the franchise.
My wife loves the X-Men movies, but she hates Star Trek.
I’ll end up contributing to the box-office figures for both, although she’s still not willing to commit to Trek09. *That’s* how poorly Trek is looked upon in many circles.
She loves “Lost”, is a casual fan of “Fringe” and (not so much anymore but) “Heroes”—-and I’ve tried to play upon that, but she still rolls her eyes at Star Trek.
She is going to have to be convinced by someone other than me.
Great FSNP pick. Trek will rock!
AdAge is nuts. Trek will beat hairy butt two to one at least. Paramount is NOT marketing to us fans as much as everyone else, that’s what we have been beefing about, as if it were a bad thing. And Trek will have greater staying power when word of mouth spreads and people start going back again. Wolvie is a one-off, plus buzz about Trek has been great, buzz about the clawman is bad.
Wolverine will receive a Vulcan Death Grip from Trek.
First, I still think its messed up that the movie opens in other nations before the US, as it is an American movie. Nothing against the rest of the world, but it just seems weird that half the other nations its playing in get to see it first. As for Wolverine beating Star Trek, it may, but not by double. Last night, playing some Halo with some friends on Live, I heard this remark, “I dont wanna sound like a nerd, but the Star Trek movie looks pretty badass, I think Im gonna have to go see it,” and a couple more of my friends agreed. From those same group of friends, none of whom like Star Trek in the least, have I heard a word about Wolverine from. No, I think Star Trek’s done a lot better in promotions than Wolverine, and putting my self out of the Trekkie that I am for a bit, looking at the two movies, Star Trek just looks cooler and more original. We’ve been flooded with comic book movies for the past few years, I think its time for a change, and Star Trek’s that change.
#14… I grok your Viewmaster Trek booklet reference! I did a blog entry on that here…
http://mystartrekscrapbook.blogspot.com/2009/03/omega-glory-viewmaster-reel.html
Not related to these subjects, but did anyone catch CSI last night? I found it very funny, but my wife didn’t since isn’t a Trek fun. She didn’t get all the inside jokes. I think that Ron Moore even made a very brief cameo. The victim on the show was rebooting a classic sci-fi series into something more real and gritty ala BSG. When he finished showing his clip, Moore jumps up and says” You suck!” ha ha ha. There’s more to the show the relates to Trek, so I hope some of you get to see it.
Eh. Marketing guys like that always talk as though there’s something actually objective about their field. If Hollywood or Hollywood marketers really knew what would be a hit and what would bomb, nothing would ever bomb. So who knows how Wolverine will do v. Star Trek? After the movies come out and everyone’s seen how the results, then the marketing guys will go back and reverse engineer an explanation.
I don’t think that “Batman Begins” numbers are realistic in box-office predictions for something subject to so many preconceived notions in the minds of mainstream moviegoers, but a respectable showing and some indication that less traditional audiences might be willing to embrace it further should be enough to guarantee a sequel, if not two.
Trek has had crossover value before, but since that time (post 1986)—what has come out has been (let’s face it) a product tailored neatly for a “geeks only” club. It’s been more than 20 years since a Star Trek movie did $109 million. That’s not an easy box to climb out of.
There’s a whole generation of moviegoers who associate Trek with “Technobabble Inc.”, and have no idea that it can be fun for more than just geeks.
The first installment can introduce these people to more accessible heroes like Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, etc. Paramount has to be looking at what they can do with 3 films—not just the one.
I’m not so much concerned with how it fares compared to other movies released this Summer—but with where it leaves the future of the franchise.
AdAge is retarded. Paramount had to do the initial catering to the “base,” campaign. If they alienated their established fans, there’s no way the movie would have enough appeal to general audiences to make up for the loss. Not to mention, Trek fans are a bit more sensitive and likely to jump ship if they feel what they love has been compromised, as opposed to Wolverine fans who have dealt with several versions of the character in comics and movies over the years. This required a much more laser like initial focus.
I’m confident that now that they’re moving into the newer phase, trying to attract new fans, they will be successful. The movie’s generating a lot of buzz, and with what I’ve been hearing about the CGI it gives it a little extra edge.
Not to mention with Trek you will now be getting the hardcore fans who have (it seems) liked what they’ve seen so far, in addition to a massive new audience.
Also go find a teenage girl and ask who they’d rather watch for a few hours; a grizzled, unkempt 40 year old or Chris Pine.
I would say the smart money is on trek.
I like both Trek and X-Men, and I may well see Wolverine in theaters, but half the reason I liked X-Men was Patrick Stewart as Prof. X. (I may be a bit biased though as I’m a wheelchair user ;-) )
I have no doubt that Star Trek will be the number one movie the weekend after Wolverine. I really have a feeling that Star Trek will be the Iron Man of this summer.
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Of course Wolverine is going to make more money that Star Trek. It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion. Star Trek might make $50-60 million opening weekend; Wolverine will probably make $90-$100 million.
What’s up with the Microsoft bias? No events for Xbox Live?
Since Xbox has sold like, 10 times the consoles as Sony, I would think doing it on xbox live would reach more people if that’s their true intent.
By all accounts from the many, many, MANY people that have already downloaded Wolverine, it’s bad at best.
From all reviews of Trek, it’s one of the best movies of the summer.
Yeah, we’ll see what happens.
AdAge article seems to be way off. Of course, we are all biased, but if you watch TV and are generally connected, you can tell how movie is going to do. Wolverine just doesn’t have the right buzz. From talking to people, watching TV and reading reviews, it’s just not the same as X-Men I and II, and I think it’s losing out to Star Trek buzz. So, perhaps a big opening weekend (although not near $100m), but it will lose out to Star Trek when that opens and then disappear as Angels/Demons and Terminator also come into the picture.
Star Trek I think is peaking correctly. At first the previews were few and far between, but now they are beginning to be everywhere. Teens (who are sought after) have short attention spans, so basically, the ads should be running during opening week non-stop for them, and it seems like that’s what Paramount is doing.
So, sell Wolverine, buy Star Trek. All the way.
I’d like to see both Wolverine and Star Trek at the top of the box office because I like them both.
Those Playstation avatar dude-things have the most ridiculous hair :(
12. ShatPine:
Um…why are you comparing Jackman with Pegg? Your very nickname has Pine in it and you ignore him to load your argument. I think the ladies will find Mr. Pine and Mr. Quinto and Mr. Urban not lacking at all. And the girls will like Yelsen.
JMN
I’m totally expecting that Trek will get a $100m+ opening weekend. Paramount has been pushing Trek so much to be a epic summer event film, there is absolutely no way Wolverine is even in the same class of film. The trailers for Wolverine have been stale to say the least, and has no sense of scale or grandeur at all.
I can’t wait to see the reviews roll in for Wolverine…..I BET there will be negative reviews right off the bat.
Leak aside, on the surface Wolverine (pretty much X Men 4) looks like it could be the winner at the BO…as X1 did $300m ww, X2 = $400m and X3 = $460m – so theyve been going up and up…where as the previous Trek movie ‘Nemesis’ flopped in 02 with a pitiful $70m ww and tv show was cancelled in 05 and the biggest box office Trek film ever (The Motion Picture – when adjusted) ‘only’ did around $350m-370m ww…plus Wolverine is coming quite soon after the $1b Dark Knight so its riding that hard PG 13 dark angry lone superhero wave…plus its the first of the summer films and is out a week b4 trek
however i get the feeling that while Wolverine looks to have the upper hand, star trek will equal its success and even surpass it as it looks new and exciting and its going back to the original series after nearly 20 years which has piped the fans interest (and theres alot of us even after boring rick berman trek) as well as interest from the media (which hasnt really happened for a trek film since the first 4) and alot of non trek fan movie goers thanks to the impressive and intriguing trailers and marketing blitz…where as Wolverine looks abit ‘meh seen it all b4 dude on X1-3 and Heroes’ plus X3, while the most successful X film, left a bad taste in alot of fans and movie goers mouths only 3 years ago…plus the dark brooding grouchy superhero thing may have peaked alittle with TDK (and the Xmen-esque Watchmen has underperformed – its R rated/nearly 3hrs i know but still) and people might want something new and fresh and different this summer and there hasnt been a big budget space epic since 2005s Revenge of the Sith and movie audiences in general havent really been to see a trek film since 1996s First Contact
plus it looks like Wolverine might not be that great (see trailers/indifferent buzz) and suffer average reviews…not to mention the leak online a whole month b4 with dumbasses like Marky downloading it, so could suffer a big drop off whereas Trek is shaping up nicely (again see trailers/positive buzz) and may garner great reviews therefore prompting a bit of repeat biz…plus if they’ve already seen W online then Trek is the 1st one to see
so in summing up I think perhaps Wolverine will do ok biz (e.g. $60m opening with maybe a $350-$400m total ww…but im thinking trek will do around $70m opening with around a $450m-$500m ww gross)
and as for Angels&Demons out the week after trek – I don’t think it’ll be anywhere near as big as Da Vinci Codes $750m…the world went crazy for that book …this book didn’t have that appeal…plus just about everyone was disappointed by the bland movie – so I think A&D will have the Prince Caspian effect and do A LOT less BO (maybe $350m ww) so maybe that wont eat into treks 2nd weekend too much
that wont eat into trek too much
anyway just my 2cent
i suppose to ADAGE, the entire week long marketing blitz on ESPN, known as FUTURE WEEK (or something like that) was aimed at Star Treks core audience? WRONG. That was a HUGE marketing campaign directed solely at non-trek fans. And what about the Kellogs cereal tie-ins and such? Apparently ADAGE has no clue what theyre talking about.
I don’t usually comment on such things. However…in the end, Trek will rule!
I hope that all the good movies (whichever movies those are) do well at the box office, and that all the bad movies (whichever movies those are) tank. I hope the fair-to-middling movies fall somewhere in between.
Whichever one of those Star Trek turns out to be, I hope it performs accordingly.
If you check the Predictify website, most people are putting their money on Star Trek. 56% of all Guru predictors (people with the most number of correct predictions) say that Star Trek will be the #1 summer movie this year. Even if the data doesn’t come from professional industry analysts, that serves to show how much awareness the new Star Trek has created.
http://www.predictify.com/q/summers-top-superhero-2?results&prd=1
”
I dont think the ladies will be clawing over Simon Pegg when they have Wolverine, sorry love Star Trek…..But reality is most ladies see the words Star Trek and think well lets face it geeks or nerds….
Then they have these previews with a bulked up muscular Hugh Jackman…So Wolverine now has TWO areas compared to Star Trek’s ONE.
They have the Fandom in there corner AND the women who like Hugh Jackman..
All Star Trek has is “I like this ship its exciting” Still 35-55 million for star trek opening weekend isnt bad, and if it makes 110 million overall that would be good for the franchise.”
“The ladies are also hot for Pine. Let’s face it, they have reason to be. He’s a huge chick magnet, so don’t underestimate him. The guys will be buzzing for Zoe, and there are many a non-geek fans for Pegg that have told me they want to see it for him alone.
Do not underestimate the various draws of this cast, nor the brilliant marketing Paramount has done with this. I have to say, they’ve really done a fantastic job!
As of it making $110 million? If that’s all it makes (a la the previous films) then say bye to Trek. Dude, this one cost $150 to make and that ain’t counting the marketing. This film will need to perform better than any Trek previously. More like in the $250-300 million domestic range would be an excellent showing (and that wouldn’t count overseas). This film is looking like it can make that and more.
I believe we’re looking at a possible blowout. The buzz is buildiing excellently!
And BTW, the reason why they’re doing all of this overseas marketing and premiers instead of here, is because Trek has nothing near the international following it has here, so if they expect overseas box to do well (which is crucial, especially in today’s market), then they have rebuild (and in some cases re-build) the desire for Trek in other countries.
As I said months ago regarding this film and now I’ll apply it to the box office showing for it, you all have to think much bigger now. This is not like any Trek film previously done.
CE
Literally saying “This is not your father’s Star Trek” in the commercials is marketing it to my father?
That doesn’t make any sense.
All the ads in the world won’t mean anything after the initial opening weekend. Regardless of what each film does in its first three days, word of mouth will sustain it from that point onward. There have been plenty of movies have have had moderately successful openings but then had the legs for the long haul (Titanic and Batman Begins come to mind). Conversely, there have been lots of films that had strong openings and then fizzled quickly (Batman Returns and more recently Watchmen, although it deserved a better fate).
The article also fails to mention that Paramount has also run lots of ads on ESPN (Trek was also plastered all over their website last week) and has been shown during lots of popular shows (saw an ad during Lost a couple of days ago). The awareness is there, it only remains to be seen whether Paramount has convinced mainstream moviegoers to give this new Trek a chance.
Wolverine 4 looks stupid. (Yes, I said Wolverine “4,” as the so-called “X-Men” movies were nothing more than Logan-Fest on wheels.)
So many people were disappointed by the third installment, it may keep people away from seeing Wolverine – people like me.
Trek is gonna blow those mutants out of the water.
Wolverine will do fairly well at the box office, but I highly doubt it will earn as much as Star Trek in the long-run. The buzz with Trek is far greater than Wolverine; the trailers look better and have received more downloads; and Wolverine has received quite a few negative reviews, whereas nearly all of Star Trek’s reviews thus far have been very positive.
The major problem with Ad Age’s prediction is that they’re basing it on the assumption that, as they put it, Paramount is marketing Trek too much to the installed base. Anyone who has actually followed the marketing and advertising campaign can tell you that is false. As we all know, Star Trek is actually being marketed primarily to a wider audience. The marketing has been trying to appeal more to the action movie crowd than to the “installed base.” No where is this more obvious than in the recent TV ads with the taglines “Forget everything you know” and “This is not your father’s Star Trek.”
I really wish sites like Ad Age would do some research before making predictions… or at the very least know what they’re talking about.
Wolverine to beat Trek? Rubbish.
First of all, isn’t the fact that Wolverine has leaked all over the Internet going to hurt it?
But putting that aside, the X-Men movies have a history of having a spectacular opening weekend, and then dropping sharply in business for Week Two. Good news for Trek.
#13 “I’ll end up contributing to the box-office figures for both, although she’s still not willing to commit to Trek09.”
If you want, you’re more than welcome to join me and my group of friends on 05/08.
Yeeeeesss – I have that comic book!!! XD
All I know is I’ve been called a Trek nerd by my friends for years. And they wouldn’t touch it.
But yesterday a girl I go to school with turned to me – on her own – and said she saw the Trek trailer and thought it looks awesome and she wants to see it.
‘Nuff said.
Paramount: you’ve hit the mark.
#42 says: “All the ads in the world won’t mean anything after the initial opening weekend. Regardless of what each film does in its first three days, word of mouth will sustain it from that point onward. There have been plenty of movies have have had moderately successful openings but then had the legs for the long haul […] Conversely, there have been lots of films that had strong openings and then fizzled quickly […].”
Absolutely. My hope is that Star Trek makes a shit-ton of cash (breaking the $300M mark or more when the dust clears) but my hope is that it really earns it, with legs (and not just Zoe Saldana’s), keeping people coming back to the theaters, and bringing their friends with them. Because that would mean a good movie, and I still hold out hopes for (even if I’m not laying any bets on) a good movie.
Opening weekend is fun to watch the numbers for, but it’s never really about the movie, only the hype. I’d be seriously impressed if Star Trek breaks past $60M opening … (I’d be absolutely shocked if it breaks $60M) and I’d be disappointed if it didn’t break at least $30M, with all the hype they’re paying for. Somewhere in the mid-30s to low 50s seems likely, depending on the economic climate.
After that, it’s all up to the actual movie to generate the necessary word of mouth.
I Think Ad Age is right about Wolverine beating Star Trek.
My thoughts are the characters of X-Men like Wolverine are NOT as mainstream as Star Trek especially the characters Kirk and Spock. I think most people who have NOT read the comics really DON’T know allot about the characters or stories of the X-Men. Star Trek (especially TOS era) is well known by fans and even non-fans. allot more non-fans know about and like Star Trek (especially TOS era) then X-Men. I have thought before that The New Vision of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek could turning off more non-fans than Trek-Fans, because Trek-fans are just that “STAR TREK FANS” and we put up with changes way more than non-fans will. I have thought before that NON-FANS are more likely the one who will want a TRUE TOS-ERA MOVIE than trek-fans who just want a star trek movie because Trek-fans are just that “STAR TREK FANS”.
The marketing of the new Star Trek film really has NOT been targeted at The Fan base, but non-fans like Ad Age feel like it has been. I think it is because when Non-fans think of Star Trek they think “mainly” of The Classic TOS Version or “on a small scale” the smart early TNG Version. Like I wrote: NON-FANS are more likely the one who will want a TRUE TOS-ERA MOVIE than trek-fans who just want a star trek movie because Trek-fans are just that “STAR TREK FANS”. I know this because for most of my life (0-23), I was a non-fan and only got into Star Trek in the past seven years. Most Trek-Fans really do not understand that non-fans are basic in they wants. If it is Star Trek they wants the Star Trek like the Star Trek they know which is “mainly” The Classic TOS Version or “on a smaller scale” the smart early TNG Version, not JJ’s Version.
Three pages of 6 page Paul Pope Spock story in Wired Mag. (It’s very ugly).
http://io9.com/5215874/spocks-backstory-revealed-in-the-special-jj-abrams-issue-of-wired