Only if they're into oldies. Alot of the kids in my classes--the ones who were introduced to Star Trek for the first time by this film--weren't even born yet when Star Trek began its decline. Maybe a handful of them remember Enterprise and fewer of them remember Nemesis or Insurrection. Only some of the teenagers were aware (or fans) of Star Trek before, and without exception every one of them became a lot MORE interested after STXI.Depends on how dependable those new fans are. Are they going to be the least bit interested in the earlier shows and movies?
And as with all things Trek, for every ten people who go and enjoy a Trek movie, two of them become casual fans and one becomes an active fan.
Depends on what they thought of this one. An aggregate of some thirty thousand Yahoo users gave it an A-minus, if that's any indication.Are they going to show up for the next movie?
Does the fact that Playmates' merchandize is consistently god awful have anything to do with it?They sure haven't been very reliable with regard to the merchandizing, if the shelves at Toys R Us and Big Lots are any indication, along with Playmates' decision to drop their line of NuTrek stuff completely.
Cult movies have a loyal following; they are not usually very profitable though.Are they going to be the least bit interested in the earlier shows and movies?
Who gives a shit if they aren't ? It's a bit of popular culture fluff to kill a few hours not a religious text.
If you're trying to build an enduring franchise, you need to develop a loyal following. Otherwise, it's one and done.
A profitable franchise is one that is able to maintain mass appeal by consistently entertaining the masses. Doesn't matter how loyal your fanbase is if nobody else ever goes to see it. And as we found out the hard way, fans are fickle; even if you cater directly to them, some times they turn their backs on you anyway, so you might as well focus on making GOOD films instead of simple appeasing a small and highly specialized demographic.