Has Paramount made a big mistake?

[ConRefit79]

I've been looking forward to the new Star Trek movie. I like most of what I've seen so far. I've tried to not get too much information on this film, because Nemesis was such a disappointment. But, like ST5, I grew to appreciate it when I passively view the movie. By passive, I mean I don't think about what I'm expecting from the movie or compare it to the other films.

Now I wonder if Paramount's delay will result in people building up huge expectations, only to be let down when they finally see it. Think about it, coming off of Insurrection, Nemesis looked like it was going to be as good as ST2 and ST8. Unfortunately, it was a dud. I remember being all excited when Star Wars the Phantom Menace trailer came out. For months I thought it was going to be great. We all know it was not as good as we all hoped.

I guess all we can do is to try not to think about it too much.

 

[Captain Pike]

The hype is a positive thing, in terms of commercial success.

Whether the film will live up to the hype or not critically is yet to be seen, but the more hype the better in terms of generating ticket sales.

 

[miraclefan]

IT'S always a possibility.

 

[Tom]

The release of the Terminator film 2 weeks after will put a dent into the overall success of the film.

 

[ConRefit79]

Besides my own enjoyment, I'm concerned about the other fans. The film already has some purest saying they will not see it. I don't think Paramount is going to get that many new people to watch the film. So it must perform well enough for fans to go see it more than once.

 

[Captain Pike]

The fans don't really factor into the equation that much. We only account for a tiny fraction of the total box office this film will rake in with the general public - we're barely a blip on their radar.

 

[Sharr Khan]

Besides my own enjoyment, I'm concerned about the other fans. The film already has some purest saying they will not see it. I don't think Paramount is going to get that many new people to watch the film. So it must perform well enough for fans to go see it more than once.

The Fans weren't the primary concern when they made this movie and so I would guess that got factored into the process - its aimed on none Trek fans first and foremost. As JJ has remarked often.

Sharr

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

The release of the Terminator film 2 weeks after will put a dent into the overall success of the film.

It will put a "dent" in the commercial success of the film, but there is no reason that the film won't make a ton of money nevertheless.

Transformers was only #1 for ONE WEEK (its opening week) and still managed to make a lot of money. In the weeks after Transformers opened it was beat by:

1st week: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2nd week: I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry
3rd week: The Simpsons Movie
4th week: The Bourne Ultimatum

So Terminator and even Angels and Demons could both beat Star Trek, but that doesn't mean that Star Trek can't still make a boatload of money.

 

[pookha]

sorry to me nemesis never looked good. people were openly laughing and mocking the dune buggy scene.

 

[RAMA]

It needs every dollar it can get, if it opens big and is somehow a disappointment, I'm sure Paramount/CBS will take it! I don't think it really will be.

 

[Jbarney]

It all depends on how much money Paramount put into this film. I just did some research on how well some of the other trek films did when they were released, and you would be surprised with how well they did. The market, the movie industry, and trek has changed a lot, but I am very curious to see how this film does in the midst of the summer movie season.

I think I read somewhere that this film had a 150 million dollar price tag, that seems a bit high, since they spent about half of that on Nemesis, but it might be in the ball park. Star Trek II, III, IV all made a ton of money for Paramount. Each of those films ranked very high on the top grossing films during the years they were released. During the mid to late 80s I think people don't realize just how much of a draw Star Trek was at the box office.

I think what Paramount might be hoping for is a pretty big opening weekend. The start of the summer movie season is pretty cut throat, but it has its winners. I just hope the film makes enough money for J.J. Abrams to go ahead and green light another television show. I think that is the real test of this. We may never see Trek at the point near the end of TNG and start of DS9 with movies and Voyager in development, but if this makes enough money...and I pray it does....I hope for another series.

 

[CaptainHawk1]

The fans don't really factor into the equation that much. We only account for a tiny fraction of the total box office this film will rake in with the general public - we're barely a blip on their radar.

Thank you!

It's about time Trek fans started to understand this. Since the beginning of TNG through ENT, Trek fans made up a scant 2% of the viewing audience. We're simply not that important and never have been despite what the people at Trek United would have you believe.

For the record, hardly anyone thought that NEM would be any good. It was doomed from the start and unlike ST:V which is mediocre by Trek standards but decent for movie standards in general (and the box office numbers agreed with this assessment) NEM was and still an awful and unwatchable film. It's poorly written, disjointed and poorly acted. It relies on cheap gimmicks like the ARGO scenes, nonsensical and cliched additions of characters (B4) and the obligatory and pointless fanboy gimmicks of the Troi/Riker wedding, Data singing, the Janeway cameo, and Data sacrificing himself for the good of the Enterprise.

It's the only film that I've ever been to in my life that I not only fell asleep in, but fell asleep in multiple times. When I left the theater, I almost had myself convinced that I should go back in to the theater and pay to watch it again because it couldn't be that bad and if it was that bad it was my duty as a Trek fan to support it twice because no one was going to watch this floating turd. But I came to my senses and realized that of course it was that bad and it deserved to have nobody see it.

That being said, this new film is not NEM and there are plenty of reasons to not blieve that it would be. J.J. Abrams and the $150 million pricetag is the first place to start. There is plenty more evidence out there to indicate it as well and it's all been pointed out as well.

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

... Nemesis looked like it was going to be as good as ST2 and ST10.

I thought Nemesis WAS as good as ST10

Paramount has taken a big gamble with this film, but if they wanted to make only safe business decisions, they should have been in a different industry. Nothing in the movie business is ever a sure thing.

 

[Jax]

The release of the Terminator film 2 weeks after will put a dent into the overall success of the film.

T-3 made less than expected and the studio is struggling to get the PG-13 rating though am sure they will. The 2nd traler put me off seeing T-4 and now I will only see it on DVD and not the cinema...I feel T4 could struggle more than Trek.

 

[Jbarney]

I guess I am not expecting Star Trek to dominate the box office for that long. I would expect it to do well during its 1st weekend, it should beat out Wolverine's 2nd weekend. I doubt it will be able to hold off Tom Hanks during its 2nd weekend going into May 15th.

 

[Rii]

I don't think Paramount particularly cares if folks are let down when they see it so long as they actually see it.

 

[Aragorn]

Star Trek doesn't need to dominate to make money, just stay healthy with good reviews and positive word of mouth. Dances of Wolves wasn't a box office topper, but it had staying power and continued to bring in the audience while other movies came and went.

 

[RealTime]

Now I wonder if Paramount's delay will result in people building up huge expectations, only to be let down when they finally see it.

I think the only people who are building up huge expectations are the people on this board (and their friends). Whether they are let down or not, I can't see Paramount quaking in their boots.

RT.

 

[DennyCrane]

One big question is - will fans and non-fans alike be able to accept new actors playing iconic characters. I believe this film will be a decent standalone sci-fi action flick, but will it be a Casino Royale / Batman Begins type film, in that it relaunches a franchise; or will it be more like Miami Vice and Get Smart, which were decent enough movies, but were more a nostalgic nod to an old TV series, and little more...

James Bond and Batman are iconic pop culture characters that are larger than the actors that play them, while Don Adams IS Maxwell Smart, Don Johnson IS Sonny Crockett. So the question is - are the characters of Kirk and Spock like Bond and Batman, or are they more like Crocket and Maxwell Smart?

 

[indranee]

^excellent post. welcome to the board, btw.