If Star Trek Has A Disappointing Box Office...?

[ST-One]

From Deadline Hollywood:

Fandango surveyed more than 4,000 moviegoers planning to see Star Trek and found: 83% plan to see the movie on opening weekend; 10% plan to show up at the theater in some kind of Star Trek costume; 48% are fans of producer-director JJ Abrams; 47% are fans of Heroes star Zachary Quinto; and 67% are male.

There it is...most tickets are going to JJ fans and Zach fans. That's the draw, not the subject matter.

So? They come despite the subject matter. Which, to be frank, has a pathetic reputation amongst the non-fan audiences.

 

[Dayton3]

I'll admit it if the movie is good.

I would hope so.

That said, even if the product is good doesn't mean I like the direction it might take the franchise.

Well it's either this direction or no direction. You don't have to like it, obviously, but I wonder sometimes about fans who don't realize how lucky we are to get anything after the past 12 or 13 years, let alone something this good.

And it is that which irritates me immensely and makes it difficult for me to get any enthusiasm for the movie.

The idea that "it is this or nothing" and "you should be grateful we are getting anything".

And I personally got to wonder how many Trek fans see a movie like this because the see it as "Star Treks last chance".

 

[ST-One]

I'll admit it if the movie is good.

I would hope so.

That said, even if the product is good doesn't mean I like the direction it might take the franchise.

Well it's either this direction or no direction. You don't have to like it, obviously, but I wonder sometimes about fans who don't realize how lucky we are to get anything after the past 12 or 13 years, let alone something this good.

And it is that which irritates me immensely and makes it difficult for me to get any enthusiasm for the movie.

The idea that "it is this or nothing" and "you should be grateful we are getting anything".

And I personally got to wonder how many Trek fans see a movie like this because the see it as "Star Treks last chance".

It figures that the history of past films that failed at the box-office would go completely over your head.

 

[Australis]

I don't so much see it as Star Trek's last chance as Star Treks' best chance.

 

[Dayton3]

I would hope so.

Well it's either this direction or no direction. You don't have to like it, obviously, but I wonder sometimes about fans who don't realize how lucky we are to get anything after the past 12 or 13 years, let alone something this good.

And it is that which irritates me immensely and makes it difficult for me to get any enthusiasm for the movie.

The idea that "it is this or nothing" and "you should be grateful we are getting anything".

And I personally got to wonder how many Trek fans see a movie like this because the see it as "Star Treks last chance".

It figures that the history of past films that failed at the box-office would go completely over your head.

I don't think most of the past films were very good or very good Star Trek either.

Even my favorites were riddled with plots holes that I believe were caused by the urge to make the movies more general audience friendly and "accessible".

I don't want movies like Star Trek, Nemesis, First Contact, Insurrection, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, Final Frontier, and Generations.

 

[JoeZhang]

If this film made a billion dollars on the opening weekend, Dayton et al would say that's it's been a flop.

 

[Feofilakt]

on a very basic level it is how people react when life sends nasty curves at you.
do you cringe,, do you run around in anger.
or do you arise to the challenge and rise above it.

that is it on a very basic level.

which is a basic theme from tos..
that of that period was not perfect but had to constantly strive to better.

That is a better explanation than what most have provided, but still not very compelling and not quite a Trek exploration. That theme is common to nearly every single action movie from Die-Hard to Alexander Nevsky. Still, I am grateful that you actually attempted, and found a message in it.

 

[Dayton3]

If this film made a billion dollars on the opening weekend, Dayton et al would say that's it's been a flop.

It is a failure of the Trek franchise no matter what.

A billion dollars would be a huge commercial success.

 

[Borgminister]

It is a failure of the Trek franchise no matter what.

Not at all. See below for refutation.

A billion dollars would be a huge commercial success.

 

[The Doctor]

If this film made a billion dollars on the opening weekend, Dayton et al would say that's it's been a flop.

It is a failure of the Trek franchise no matter what.

According to whom?

I grew up watching TOS in syndication on Saturday mornings before cartoons.

I loved the new movie. It captured the essence of the characters brilliantly and melded that great heart with a snappy visual style that had more than its fair share of homages to the original series. The transporter effect was particularly impressive in executing an entirely new and exciting effect that still evoked the classic gold effect of the original.

 

[Jessop]

According to whom?

Quite.

Voyager. Enterprise. Insurrection. Nemesis. Now those were failures to the Trek franchise.

 

[Augustus]

I agree.

Dayton3, you might be upset that people keep saying that it is either this direction or no direction... but it true...


Trust me, I would love to see more TNG movies, I would love to see more seasons or lost stories from any of the Trek series, but it wasn't going to happen. It simply wasn't...

So the choice is real... Abrams Trek or no Trek? Now that is not a good reason to like it, just because it is Trek, but it is a reason to give it a chance.

Last night I gave it a chance and while it is very different, while it is new, it was also very entertaining and a tribute to Star Trek. The group of people I saw it with were all non fans... They loved it... and as a result they want to watch some of the other movies... I picked up about a million little nuggets that showed that the writers had watched and knew their Trek..

 

[USS Gettysburg]

Found this article from Reuters: (didn't see it posted yet)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUKTRE5443BU20090508

But sources at the studio behind the $130 million film have sought to downplay expectations, describing "Star Trek" as a reboot of an aging franchise that sets the stage for future, more successful installments. There have been 10 previous "Star Trek" movies.

One source at Paramount said advance audience research indicated the opening weekend would be slightly above $50 million, a figure the studio would welcome as a success.

 

[Zeppster]

Found this article from Reuters: (didn't see it posted yet)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUKTRE5443BU20090508

But sources at the studio behind the $130 million film have sought to downplay expectations, describing "Star Trek" as a reboot of an aging franchise that sets the stage for future, more successful installments. There have been 10 previous "Star Trek" movies.

One source at Paramount said advance audience research indicated the opening weekend would be slightly above $50 million, a figure the studio would welcome as a success.

I think it'll be a little more than that. Probably around 70 million.

 

[superdeluxe]

Not sure how updated that is, because as we get closer to the weekend, the updated predictions are getting higher and higher.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

If the studio folks say they're expecting 50 million, they expect 10 million more than that. The days before a release are always a game of talking down expectations.

 

[USS Gettysburg]

Not sure how updated that is, because as we get closer to the weekend, the updated predictions are getting higher and higher.

Article was written 12 hours ago. Anyway, I was focusing on the # they would be happy with not the prediction, which yea is probably on the low side of what they would be happy with.

Bad news:

In one early sign of just who may turn up at box offices, online ticket seller Fandango.com took a poll showing that only 20 percent of those planning to see "Star Trek" were under age 25. Paramount said its tracking also indicated the film appealed more to men older than 25.

Not good for the box office.

 

[superdeluxe]

Boxofficeguru: 74 million OW
Boxofficereport: 70 millon OW
Boxofficeprophet: 61 million OW
Cinematical: 82 million OW
Big Hollywood: 65 million OW
Leesmovieinfo: 66 million OW
BoxofficeOracle: 92 million OW
Boxoffice Junkie: 67 million OW

 

[USS Gettysburg]

Boxofficeguru: 74 million OW
Boxofficereport: 70 millon OW
Boxofficeprophet: 61 million OW
Cinematical: 82 million OW
Big Hollywood: 65 million OW
Leesmovieinfo: 66 million OW
BoxofficeOracle: 92 million OW
Boxoffice Junkie: 67 million OW

Any of those would be fantastic. I just have this underlying pessimism after the TNG movies.

 

[USS Gettysburg]

Sorry one more. (I obsess)
http://www.montrealgazette.com/ente...en+Star+Trek+track+records/1539260/story.html

Initially, Abrams' new Trek was expected to earn $50 million for that important opening weekend. Pundits have now moved it into the $80- to $100-million neighbourhood - a very nice place for a $150-million picture to live. That should put the updated film on track to surpass the $300 million worldwide total.

Abrams seemed pleased about that, but was hesitant to embrace the good news fully just yet. "I don't want to be presumptuous," he told reporters in L.A. on Sunday.