HuffPost Box Office Weekend in Review: Star Trek Opens to $79 Million

Here's something I bet you didn't know. Back in 1979 and 1982, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan broke the opening weekend record with $11.9 million and $14.3 million respectively. So, yes, for a brief period, the Star Trek franchise really was in the same kind of company as Batman and Jurassic Park. Along with Jaws, those three franchises are the only ones ever to have their first two pictures break the opening weekend record consecutively (Batman did it thrice in a row, a still un-bested mark). Indiana Jones did it with films two and three, while Spider-Man did it with films one and three (I'd argue that Spider-Man 2 only missed because Sony chose to open it over the long July 4th weekend). The re-release of Star Wars broke the record in 1978, and Return of the Jedi smashed through the $20 million barrier in the three-day portion of its Memorial Day weekend in 1983. Another neat fact? Every Which Way But Loose was the first film to break the $10 million barrier and Star Wars actually took the weekend box office record from Jaws in its 11th week of original release. So yes, Star Trek used to be very much at or near the top of the short-term box office heap. And, if history is any indication, it'll return again when Star Trek II: Attack of the Klingons is released in summer 2012.

The most shocking thing about Star Trek's weekend performance isn't the alleged $79.2 million in 3.5 days. That's a great number, a nearly three million more than the estimates. No, the shocking part is that, unlike nearly every live-action genre tent pole picture in recent memory, Star Trek's Saturday business actually increased by a token amount from it's opening Friday. The reboot's maiden voyage grossed $27.4 million on Saturday (the pure Friday numbers, including midnight showings, were $26.8 million, meaning it's now the third biggest Friday of 2009). That's an amazing accomplishment in this day and age.

In the old days (think anytime before the last six years or so), a film opened on Friday, went up a bit on Saturday, then dipped a little below the Friday number on Saturday. Solid 3x multipliers were common and anything less was a sign of trouble. That's now a thing of the past for anything that is even remotely 'eagerly awaited', with the exception of family-centered animated films (Monsters Vs. Aliens) and/or explicitly grown up entertainment (like The Bourne Ultimatum). Today it's a front-loaded opening day, followed by a token fall on Saturday and Sunday. Long story short, plenty of non-geeks and grown ups decided to check out Star Trek after opening day, and everyone from Friday told their pals to see it. Iron Man was the most recent event picture to pull that off, and we all know how well it held up over the summer.

In 3.5 days, Star Trek has out grossed every single Star Trek picture except for Star Trek: The Motion Picture ($82 million), Star Trek: First Contact ($92 million), and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ($109 million). By today, it will be the third highest grossing Trek picture and it'll easily surpass the franchise record by Saturday at the absolute latest. Obviously inflation is not figured into these numbers. No real point complaining, but I'd argue that the Sunday total ($21 million) would probably be higher if not for the fact that today is Mother's Day. It sounds like the film is truly playing like an across-the-board, all-audiences smash hit. This is a big win for Paramount, especially if it plays like a mainstream reboot (Batman Begins, Casino Royale) and less like... well, a Star Trek film. As for final domestic take, I'm thinking $230 million at this point, maybe more if Terminator: Salvation underwhelms (in which case Star Trek has the genre field all to itself for a full month). As it is, solid word of mouth and positive press coverage now makes Star Trek the second choice for most movie goers for a good chunk of June, which is a very nice place to be.

To Paramount's credit, they have publicly stated that they are in this for the long haul (which theoretically justifies the film's alleged $200 million+ final cost). They knew that had an audience-pleaser on their hands. Regardless of the final domestic gross, Paramount knew that the series would be in prime position to capitalize on the goodwill of this first picture. Like past 'better than I expected' first films (Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery, X-Men, The Bourne Identity, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Batman Begins, and Casino Royale), the inevitable sequel could nearly double this film's opening weekend take. Right here, right now, I'm calling $100 million+ for the opening weekend of the second Star Trek 2.0 picture.

For more box office info, including the near-record plunge of a certain tent pole and the tragic demise of a cartoon that you should try to check out, go to Mendelson's Memos.

Scott Mendelson

Comments

[getoffthecross]

I saw it. I enjoyed it. I'll be seeing it again.

I also saw Wolverine, mostly because the 13-year old comic-book geek in me wouldn't allow the opportunity to see what used to be my favorite character on the big screen (more or less solo). I *won't* be seeing that a second time.

I know you weren't enamored with the new Trek, but (unlike Wolverine) it really had a great deal of the elements that lured us into the franchise back in the day. Sure, there were plot holes to drive a truck through, but the same could be said for The Dark Knight, and that didn't stop it from becoming one of my all-time favorite movies ever. It's more about heart than intellect, but I see it as a great beginning to something new and (hopefully) wonderful.

[BottomLine2008]

But "Star Trek" really doesn't work as a movie, right? lol

[Scott Mendelson - Huffpost Blogger]

First of all, opening weekend is all about marketing and 'want to see' factor. If the movie is lousy, it will plunge like a rock over the second weekend (re - Wolverine). As for Star Trek, I'm perfectly willing to admit that the film is well liked by most audiences, which is why I'm projecting a solid domestic return and a boffo opening weekend of the sequel. That I didn't like it is irrelevant to its box office trajectory. Unlike Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, I keep critical analysis and box office analysis separate.

[BottomLine2008]

I like how stubborn you are.

For starters, if the movie didn't work, the word of mouth would have started tanking it over the weekend. It didn't. In fact, word of mouth drove the movie's business over the weekend.

Plus all the great reviews.

Nice try at being a contrarian.

You're projecting "a solid domestic return." That's generous of you.

Face it, it's a big hit.

[43P04T34]

The possessive form of the word "it" is not "it's", but is, rather, "its".

[blueskybigstar]

The X-men movie franchise has suffered from incredibly poor writing that does not take the time to introduce the characters and tell real human stories about the anxiety of feeling different.

[MikeLicht]

It's just TOO horrible. They got the food ALL wrong!

See:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/intergalactic-eats/

[4real]

I saw Star Trek this weekend and I loved it! Chris Pine is soo cute.