Judging by our current poll and the reader reviews Star Trek has has a great opening weekend for the fans, but it looks like that elusive mainstream audience are also on board. We have the numbers below [UPDATE: w/ Int’l returns] Plus there is video of Quinto, Pine & Nimoy on SNL and more interviews and opening weekend tidbits, including ‘Star Trek The Sneakers’ and much more.
Star Trek shows Paramount the money
According to Variety and Box Office Mojo, Star Trek will bring in $76.5M in its domestic opening weekend (including early shows on Thursday), which is more than initial studio and industry expectations. Star Trek scored $27.4M on Saturday and is expected to bring in $18.3M on Sunday. Variety notes:
J. J. Abrams’ reboot of the classic sci-fi franchise came in on the upper end of expectations, and all but guarantees that Par will pursue a next installment. “Star Trek” took a bite out of 20th Century Fox holdover “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which debuted to $87 million last weekend, the best opening of the year.
UPDATE: International numbers – Trek #1 overseas too
Variety is now also reporting that Star Trek brought it an additional $35.5 Million in 54 overseas markets, which they describe as "solid rather than spectacular." Specifically the big countries for Star Trek were: the U.K. with $8.8 million, Germany with $4.6 million, Australia with $3.4 million, France with $2.8 million, Russia with $2.3 million, South Korea with $2.2 million and Spain with $1.6 million. Paramount noted that this foreign return was 3% ahead of Batman Begins opening weekend in 2005, and that film finished with $167 overseas. All past Star Trek film have made most of their money domestically. Star Trek has yet to open in some overseas markets (including Japan), so it is too early to tell how close they will get to parity this time.
MORE TIDBITS
Pine, Quinto & Nimoy drop by SNL
The new Kirk and Spock, along with Spock Prime, were surprise guests during ‘Weekend Update’ on last night’s Saturday Night Live. The bit was another riff on the ‘Trek fans’ joke. In my opinion, the Onion thing and Nimoy’s Top 10 were better, but here it is:
Star Trek Sneakers
We have had Star Trek The Spork and Star Trek The Cereal, are you ready for Star Trek The Shoes? 140 pairs of specially designed Airwalk Star Trek sneakers went on sale in New York at ReedSpace on Friday. (via SneakerNews)
Wear your Trek
NYT: Dowd’s Take on Trek
More proof that Star Trek is again part of the mainstream culture (even the cultural elites), New York Times Op Ed columnist Maureen Dowd has taken the new Star Trek movie, the notion that the President is a Vulcan, and the decline of print journalism, and put them all together in a dream:
I dreamed that Spock saved our planet, The Daily Planet of journalism.
Instead of swooping in to figure out the dimensionality and logarithms to rescue the world from red matter, as Spock does in J. J. Abrams’s dazzling new “Star Trek,” I imagined Spock rescuing read matter for the world.
Newspapers are an “endangered species,” as John Kerry called us in a Senate hearing last week, just as the Vulcans are in the new prequel.
I know Barack Spock likes newspapers. An aide told me during the campaign that Mr. Obama would get cranky if he didn’t have some time set aside during the day to read The New York Times. …read the rest
This is the actual photo illustration at the NY Times
NEW INTERVIEWS
Nimoy and Quinto at Newsweek’s ‘Spock on Spock’
Orci & Kurtzman with Collider
Whoopi Goldberg (talking new movie) on Larry King
More
- Quinto on his Pittsburgh roots (KDKA) [VIDEO]
- Former ENT and TOS-R Producer Dave Rossi talks at length about his views on the new movie in the latest Zero Room Podcast
- JJ Abrams in Der Spiegel (in German)
Finally: Get Shatner’s premiere Tickets + Bill’s fave episodes
William Shatner is selling his unused tickets to the Star Trek premiere on Ebay (for charity)…he has signed the envelope
You can own Shatner’s tickets
Speaking of Bill, YouTube has a video of him talking about his favorite episodes to promote how they have all of Star Trek The Original Series available online.
Thanks to Paul D, Paul C, Russ, and Kevin
Better get busy on the sequel, Messrs. Orci and Kurtzman! :-)
STAR TREK LIVES ON!!!
wow thats a lot of money’s – now lets give them $200 million for the sequel :D
Movie was sooo great! nice work!
Ive always held Star Wars as my favourite franchise (with Trek a close second), but after this film i think Star Trek is now above Star Wars for me.
Bring on more films! Even a Abrams directed TV sereis with this new universe crew!
Wow! We may well see Trek repeat as Number 1 next weekend.
The numbers are fantastic! Just saw the movie, job well done guys!
Great chat between Nimoy and Quinto!
15 years ago, when ‘Next Gen’ was at it’s peak (yes, a LONG time ago) I used to always say, ‘nothing is as good as it used to be. Except ‘Star Trek”.
Well, now we can say that again.
It’s good the wheel has finally turned.
God bless you, J.J.
I want a TV series centered on the USS Kelvin set in the Prime Universe. I want more Robau!
I enjoyed that Newsweek clip. Nice little chat with the 2 Spocks. And I’m proud to say that 14 of those Thursday night dollars were mine. I very much enjoyed the movie. Sure, I had a couple nitpicks, but overall it was a lot of fun…and a great breath of life into our beloved franchise.
All I can say is thank you to all the fans and future fans who turned out to watch this film! I sat in amazement with how well these characters were played. When i went the first night i was on the edge of my seat and some scenes even brought tears to my eyes and the second time was just like the first!
I mean i get goose bumps tallking to others about this movie! JJ and company has done an awsome Job and i bet the next film will be even better!
Live long and Prosper ……
I am proming myself that I will see the movie again this week and next weekend. :-) That’s certainly something to look forward to.
It looks likely, if the trend continues (and, thank the Great Bird of the Galaxy, it looks likely that the trend will continue!), that TrekMovie.com will have much to cover about Star Trek 2011 (assuming that the sequel will be out in two years). That’s two more years of anticipating another great installment of Trek. (If that seems like a long time, I remember sixteen months ago, and when the Christmas 2008 opening date was moved to May 2009, how long the wait seemed to a lot of people; I was one of those who simply relished the fact that we had just that much more time to anticipate the goodness that was to come.)
Good things come to those who wait.
That said, bring on the next Trek movie! (Knock wood!)
To quote Nimoy on SNL those who do not like it would be dickheads. lol
not really but I have some friends that didn’t like it and are trying to discourage people from seeing it. if you didn’t like it it’s your opinion. don’t try to make others share it before they experience the movie.
5 – Doubt it with Angels & Demons coming out, unless it flops spectacularly.
However, if we see a drop of only, say, 60% (vs. Wolverine’s 70%), it’ll still bring in about $30 million next weekend too which, combined with the Monday-Thursday numbers, should push it darn close to, if not over, $120 million for 10 days…not bad work.
And I think I noted this before…the numbers actually went up from Friday to Saturday. Now, some of that might be Trekkers who saw it Thursday instead of Friday, instead of watching it Saturday, but it’s still a good sign. We’ll also have to see if numbers drop the full 33% from Saturday to Sunday too. If they don’t, it could, conceivably, hit $80 million over 4 days.
is the curse reversed in this new alternate trek universe, a universe where odd numbered films are better than even numbered films?
“More proof that Star Trek is again part of the mainstream culture …”
People were making these Obama/Spock comments from the beginning. More proof that Star Trek has _continued_ to be part of the mainstream culture, at least for making certain types of jokes and comparisons. This has never changed.
It’s all about the shoes! I gotta have me some of those shoes!
14. Josh
I actually think there is the real possibility that Trek could be #1 next week. While I’m sure Angels and Demons will do very well, I don’t think there is the excitement or the awareness of it like there was with Star Trek. I also think that Angels and Demons just isn’t the DaVinci Code, a movie that was riding high on the huge wave of the book. I also think that Trek will show great legs and will attract an older audience as well as youngsters.
Saying all that, I still think Angels and Demons will open at #1 and that Treks opening weekend will seem small after Terminator. I can’t imagine Angels and Demons pulling in the younger demographic, however, so I think that next week will really be Trek’s weekend to take in the cash before Terminator.
On a side note, how great is it to finally have some movies coming out that aren’t based on comic books? Man, I hope good Sci-Fi and Sci-Fi Action films are making a comeback this year. I don’t think I can take another movie about superheroes any time soon.
Wonderfull news :D
I so hope these numbers will continue to rise… and at least 4 times do went on my account ;)
Variety says trek Made 35 million overseas.
This whole media obsesion with Spock/Obama thing has got to stop. That picture was crazy to say the least. The Newsweek thing was sickening.
President Obama is a human being with real work to do in this country. I’ll give him the respect he deserves, but please, for the love of all that is holy, stop comparing him to a fictional alien hybrid with life-long identity crisis issues. :)
I went to 2 showings of the IMAX and one regular showing and loved it every time. The little things you notice each time around. Scotty’s friend (whom I thought was awesome) wearing a red shirt, and Dr McCoy calling for Nurse Chapel were cool things.
Trek is back!!!!!!
Star Trek (in general) has ALWAYS been great, and I’m glad this movie reminds people of that!
I gaffawed when Kenan Thompson did the evil eye hand gesture using the Vulcan salute fingers! CLASSIC!! LAWL!!!
But poor Chris Pine… he REALLY needs to get some cosmetic surgery on those acne scars before the next movie… IMAX and HDTV are not his friends.
Oh, brother, here we go again…
Let me say, up front, that I love William Shatner, I really do. That said, he’s made such a childish spectacle over the decision to use a Spock from a timeline where he’s been crushed by a bridge that it’s starting to get embarrassing. First it was the he said/he said media fights arguing with JJ Abrams, then it was George Takei. Then, thankfully, it all died down. Now it’s back to Trek again, and how though he is admittedly being quieter about it, he’s still running around, telling reporters that he’s devastated or some such thing. I know the man is sad that he couldn’t do another, but he needs to understand WHY the plot wouldn’t have supported it. I’d love to see him back in uniform again, but not if it is an excuse to use Shatner as stunt-casting.
But this business of hawking his unused tickets online disgusts me. If he wants to raise money for charity, he could’ve auctioned them off BEFORE the premiere and given two lucky winners a chance to see the movie. But now it’s “I’ve got these tickets I didn’t use because I’m not in the movie just lying around. Hmmm… no kidneystones, I’ll sell these instead.”
Given his history with this project and his hurt feelings over not being asked back (did we hear Nimoy make this much noise over “Generations”, though? He addresses it with Newsweek, but there’s no anger or hurt feelings there, just an “oh well” attitude), I totally understand him not attending the premiere. But to advertise and sell his “unused” tickets online? That’s not charity. That’s a pouting child. I’m glad the media is steering away from him during all of this, actually. This movie needs to be celebrated for what it is — a breakthrough film that introduces a smart, fresh, younger cast and crew. Let them have their moment in the spotlight.
Honestly, I do love the man, and forever he’ll be James Tiberius Kirk and Denny Crane, and so much more to me. But with this little stunt, when put together with all of his 2008 public bickering, on TV and online, he’s also becoming an embarrassment to me.
Flame on.
After all these years, Whoopi is still a class act.
She’s ever so gently telling long-time fans to have an open mind about this new canon. And she’s doing it in a very polite and respectful way.
Because I first saw the movie at a special showing almost two weeks ago, I’m glad I can now talk freely about elements in the film. (I’m the guy who can’t keep the good stuff to myself.) This was a great film, and all the actors were great, but Bruce Greenwood as Pike was fantastic, and the guy who played Kirk’s father was incredible; in fact when I saw it for the second time in an IMAX theater, I felt a tear roll down my cheek when he sacrificed himself to give his crew a chance to escape.
My only qualm was that academy graduates can now become captain the minute they leave the building? I’d rather have had a scene with McCoy and Kirk flying a shuttle to San Francisco when McCoy asks, “Did you enjoy your experience on the Enterprise?” Kirk wyould look out the window and we’d see a reflection of the ship. “I have a feeling we’ll see her again,” Kirk would reply, and we’d have the basis for the second movie.
Regardless, I give it three and a half stars (!) and am enjoying the renewed interest in my favorite franchise.
Live long and prosper, Star Trek.
Sour grapes for Mr. Shatner? I hope he did not go because he was upset…
Okay… so what next? Some thoughts:
I would like to see something along the lines of an animated Trek miniseries based in the Alternate Reality, but not specifically based on Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, or Chekov. I want to retain the anticipation Trek has generated concerning these AR versions of the Big 7.
An animated series based on the same era, but with non-canon-based storylines might just fill the bill.
Here is a suggestion: Start commissioning a limited miniseries to run in mid-2010 based on the USS Excelsior, commanded by Gary Mitchell. Instead of being simply a lieutenant assigned to the TOS Enterprise, in the AR, the events of ST2009 (the current movie) have advanced Mitchell to his own command.
Mitchell has been forewarned to avoid his fate by his Academy classmate (or friend — perhaps this hasn’t changed) James T. Kirk, thanks to Spock Prime’s knowledge about the events of “Where No Man Has Gone Before” (which, coincidentally, features Delta Vega!). However, as part of Starfleet’s exploratory mission, Mitchell is selected at his own insistence to track down the origins of the mysterious force that caused his death in the Prime Reality. Over the course of the animated miniseries, in which only Kirk makes an appearance (and then only a cameo), Mitchell goes forth to discover the true nature of the Galactic Barrier, and in the process, uncover one of the greatest threats the Galaxy has ever known….
[Please feel free to use the above ideas.]
Here are some advantages to using the animated format: Low budgetary requirement and no need to find an actor who looks like Gary Lockwood. Other advantages of this idea: (1.) Mr. Lockwood is still alive, and he can make a voice cameo. (2.) This idea involves Kirk without having to actually bring him into ths story. (3.) This could touch upon various philosophical issues (nature of interference with the timeline, etc.). (4.) This could involve lots action as Mitchell tempts fate and becomes part of the mysterious force in an effort to understand him, and directs his energies (literally) every which way. (Is he an ally or an enemy of the Federation, in the end?) (5.) Interest in Trek overall would be sustained until the next new movie comes out.
The success of such an endeavor would depend on smart writing and great production values as well as savvy marketing. The model for this would the Clone Wars.
Gary Seven would also be an candidate for animated series ideas.
I have added the int’l numbers and changed the headline
As a kid, favorite TOS episode was “Miri”.
As a pubescent teenager, my favorite was “Elaan of Troyius”.
And then as I grew up a little more, I think probably my favorite became “Day of the Dove”.
That’s the fun of Star Trek. If it’s cerebral, it’s never static and you can always come back and see something new, or feel something different. I don’t believe it’s possible to have a single favorite episode forever. But there’s nothing new to see or feel in pure action — remember that Orci and Kurtzman!
25, I am of the opposite opinion. It’s SO awesome that Shat didn’t go to the premiere and is putting an exclamation mark on it by selling the ticket on ebay. I would not go, either. You GO Shat-you were dissed by the producers. Maybe they will find a way to put him in the next one. If Quinto can stand the scrutiny of a direct comparison to Nimoy, why can’t Pine be in the same movie as Shatner?
I am not a hater of the movie. I saw it a second time and it grew on me a little. I do hate that Shat was not in it and even more hate what they did to Scotty. Other than that, not so bad a job.
76 million opening – wow compare that to the openings for Batman Begins (47) and Superman Returns (52) – way way more
i think its on a par with the Da Vinci Codes opening actually (in 2006 – still its not that long ago)..
Star Trek #1 boxoffice. Bob Dylan #1 album sales. HOPE is in the White House. The 60’s have finally returned.
I took a 7 hr flight, to see it in IMAX, Glad I did. When I get home I will see it again 2 or 3 times in a regular Theatre.
Yep, can’t wait for Star Trek 12
Hay Anthony, Will Trekmovie.com continue?
Been reading since day 1, has it been 3 years?
Thanks for all your imput, and interviews.
:)
I’m still a fan of TOS, and now I can add to that!
also Casino Royale ‘only’ did $40m opening
A few revisionist thoughts about my own Gary Mitchell story at 29:
Problem: There may be an issue with the plausibility of someone Mitchell’s age attaining command of a starship; Starfleet is simply not that desperate, despite the loss of seven or eight ships and much of Kirk’s cadet class in the Narada incident. (The prime fleet is unaffected, since it was in the Laurential System.) Also, Gary Mitchell’s re-administered psych profile, ordered by the authorities now that his Prime Reality god complex is known, might disqualify him from command.
Solution 1.: Just as the Enterprise-AR (Alternate Reality) launched a dozen or so years after the TOS Enterprise did, it is clear that some things could be different in the AR. Simply make Gary Mitchell a favorite instructor of Kirk’s, or a mentor, at Starfleet Academy so that he is of suitable age and rank. Also, assume that Mitchell somehow passes a readministered psych eval.
Solution 2.: Okay, so no command of the Excelsior. Instead, Gary Mitchell goes rogue and gets his own privateering ship in an effort to figure out what “happened” at the Galactic Barrier in the PR. We could always bring the Excelsior in under some other command … perhaps Pikes?
These are some work-arounds. If the basic storyline is good, minor issues can always be dealt with.
33 – you would be correct. The Da Vinci Code made $77 million it’s opening.
And I’m still not sold on Star Trek falling 33% from Saturday to Sunday. If it only drops, say, 25% (comparable to something like Monsters vs. Aliens), and we’re still dealing with estimates, not actual numbers (Wolverine lost about $2 million from it’s estimate to actuals while Batman Begins gained $2 million), I still wouldn’t be shocked if we say a number that hit $80 million for the first 4 days.
BTW, I’ll stop with the story ideas now. I don’t want to go off topic. The purpose of these ideas is to show that there is just so much that can be done now.
There are always … possibilities.
:-)
@25. Telly1138
re: Shatner selling non-usable premiere tickets.
I also love the Shat, but he’s really looking like a petulant child about this. I suppose in terms of ‘press’ he’s keeping his name out there. Yet, I think he could accomplish the same by having taken from Nimoy’s example of embracing the young actor who is interpreting his character for a new generation. It would be the classy thing to do. I like my Shatner classy. please.
Now Zip, THAT is dedication!
Anthony, please keep this site alive and kicking. After all, you had it going for two years before this movie premiered… hopefully it won’t be more than two years before the next installment! :)
Congratulations to Orci, Kurtzman, Abrams and everyone else in the team. There were a few things the perfectionist in me didn’t love, but the fact is that you made Star Trek viable again and any fan should appreciate what that means even if they didn’t dig this new one, which in a spot of luck seems to be a minority, if a vocal one.
The movie was a disappontment for me, promoted from farm boy to captain in 3.5 years? Give me a break
The engine room with manually operated gate and globe valves 300 years from now?? (i’m an engineer) You gotta be shitting me
Some how they all get promoted and forced together is beyond unlikely
Oh and yea, just a little extra boost by the all too funny Scotty and they escape 3 feet from a black hole? Who the fug do you think your kidding?
Kirk just happens to run into the old Spock? and don’t tell me he knew, it’s a different timeline remember
The whole movie is conflugrated bullshit
“Variety is now also reporting that Star Trek brought it an additional $35.5 Million in 54 overseas markets, which they describe as “solid rather than spectacular.”
Hmm. How much did Wolverine make overseas in its first weekend, I wonder?
Homages – to the original MOVIES
TMP:
-Neros vger like vessel
-Kirk and Bones first seeing the Ent (similar to Kirk and Scot)
-Admiral Pikes uniform at end
TWOK:
-Khan like villian – driven by revenge (for spock this time)
-Nero going “SPPOOOOCCCCK!!” (like “KHHHHHAAAAAN!”)
-The whole Kobiashi Maru test – Kirk eating an apple during it (like when he talks about it in TWOK), ‘i dont believe in the no win sceario’ etc
-‘I have been and always shall be your friend’
-Ceti Eel type creatures used on Pike
-Spocks end VO
TSFS:
-the same as II really ‘I have been and always shall be…’ was repeated by spock in a similar fashion to how he does it in III
TVH:
-opening with young spock learning on the computer
-Vasquez Rocks as Vulcan again
TFF:
-Ice climbing (like the rock climbing)
-Kirk catching Sulu (like Spock catching Kirk)
-Kirk hitting his head seemed like a nod to Scotty
-The affair between Spock and Uhura seemed like an homage to Scotty and Uhura in V
TUC:
-Spock line ‘whatever remains must be the truth’
-similar end with the ship riding off into the distance with the ‘where no ONE has gone b4’
GEN (not an TOS movie but still…Kirk was in it):
-orbital skydrive (although that was deleated)
-planet destruction (similar to Veridian IIIs)
-Nero was sort of similar to soran – driven by grief and wanting to destroy planets
also:
Time Travel permantly changing past events (FC) and Neros ship was like a big version of Shinzons and Scotty ‘pet‘ was very similar looking to the aliens Picard, Worf and data unconter on the planet(NEM)
44 – Variety says Wolverine opened at $73.1 million overseas, but I didn’t see mentioned in how many markets. If it opened in, say, China and Japan while Star Trek didn’t, that would be a big reason it did better.
Yes, #43, funny isn’t it? A Star Trek movie where the harder you think the stupider it gets … hehe. First time for everything I guess.
Thanks, Josh (46). Interesting.
@20:
I’d well believe it, I saw the film with a few friends thursday afternoon in a pretty full room and that was at 2pm before most get out of work, school etc. Also I saw it in the most popular cinema in Dublin, there was wall to wall Trek promotion and they’re running showings every half hour from thursday till today using the 5 main screens. Nearly all the other cinemas around town were the same and that’s just over here in our little corner of the world.
45 – ha! I had forgotten about Kirk eating an apple while talking about the Kobyashi Maru. Nice catch on that one.
Anyone notice the Borg panels on the Narada? They were mostly out of focus I think, but I”m pretty sure I saw some green glowy Borg-looking stuff on his ship. I was almost hoping he would mention the Borg (not that Kirk and Spock would know what he was talking about) but alas.