Ok this was on SKY (British TV channel) so don't stone me if its not right, countdowns begins 10. Star Trek VII Generations (1994) 9. Star Trek VI The Undiscovered country (1991) 8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996) 7. Star Trek Beyond (2016) 6. Star Trek III: The search for Spock (1984) 5. Star Trek II: The wrath of Khan (1982) 4. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) 3. Star Trek IV: The Voyage home (1986) 2. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) 1. Star Trek (2009) (Take that JJ haters!) My top three on this list are 1, 8 and 9.
9, 5, and 2 are my top three. And #2 and #1 have something impressive in common... (the nostalgia factor, it just took the movie franchise into different directions...) Also, "popularity" doesn't equate with "greatness", it just means a lot of people went to experience it. After all, Leonard Nimoy - a one-time prominent smoker because he thought it was cool to do - later told everyone to stop doing it because smoking wasn't as great as it was said to be.
Does the list adjust for inflation? Non adjusted for inflation box office lists that cut across decades are useless. Also remember a lot of those came out in a time Star Trek was really unpopular among non-nerds.
From random Reddit page Figures in the millions. Inflation adjusted supposedly Star Trek Into Darkness (2013): 495.20 Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979): 454.28 Star Trek (2009): 436.97 Star Trek Beyond (2016): 346.96 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986): 265.19 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982): 229.56 Star Trek First Contact (1996): 213.91 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984): 187.21 Star Trek Generations (1994): 180.33 Star Trek Insurrection (1998): 160.65 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991): 152.05 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989): 109.68 Star Trek Nemesis (2002): 87.85
That's interesting, I always thought Voyage Home was most commercially successful. You have to bear in mind though that box office doesn't reflect how much people enjoyed the movie, it reflects how much people thought they would enjoy it. There's a big difference between the popularity of nerd culture in the 10s and the 80s, and also the international releases of those films.