I don’t think there was ever any doubt that Star Trek (the reboot) would be the highest grossing of the series; after all, the films that did best in the Trek series came out in the 80s, when theater admissions were much cheaper. But what has ended up surprising skeptics like myself is the fact that JJ Abrams’ Trek is the highest grossing Trek of all time when adjusted for inflation.
Trekmovie.com has done the legwork and compared Abrams’ film to the previous ten, and shows that even when adjusted for inflation, Star Trek beats Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the previous highest grossing of the series (and something of a phenomenon when it was released, for reasons that baffled me even at the time), if only by a few tens of millions of dollars. The site does a really thorough analysis of the box office of the film, including comparing it to other summer blockbusters and examining why it underperformed overseas. Click here to read it all.
I’ll be the first to admit that I was tough on the film pre-release, but I’m also the first to say that the movie worked and that it works even better on multiple viewings. The fact that it pulled in over 250 million domestic is incredible, and the home video sales should be astonishing, if the word of mouth I heard when the movie came out is to be believed. People didn’t just pay money to see this movie, they liked it. If ever you thought there was a question about the future of Star Trek, worry no more. The franchise is assuredly back from the dead and sticking around.
And speaking of home video sales, the movie hits DVD and Blu-Ray on November 17th. Click here to order it from CHUD.