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=== ''The Original Series'' films ===
 
=== ''The Original Series'' films ===
 
Films which feature the cast of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]''.
 
Films which feature the cast of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]''.
{| class="grey" width="100%"
+
{|class="grey" width="100%"
 
!Title
 
!Title
 
!Film #
 
!Film #
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![[Stardate]]
 
![[Stardate]]
 
!US Release Date
 
!US Release Date
  +
!Critical Reception<ref>Approval rates as calculated by the critical film review website {{w|Rotten Tomatoes}}.</ref>
!Critical Reception
 
 
!Domestic Gross
 
!Domestic Gross
 
!Foreign Gross
 
!Foreign Gross
  +
!Worldwide Gross<ref>These figures include worldwide box-office takes only. Every other form of revenue, such as for merchandise, home media format sales, rentals, television rights and the like, are excluded from the figures. Revenue and cost figures as submitted by the studio to the movie website {{w|IMDb}}</ref>
!Worldwide Gross
 
  +
!Budget (est)
  +
!Profitability Gross<ref>Percentages above 100% indicate profit, below 100%, loss and at 100% means the production exactly recouped its production costs.</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|1}}
 
|{{film|1}}
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|7410.2 - 7414.1
 
|7410.2 - 7414.1
 
|{{dateserial|1979|12|07}}
 
|{{dateserial|1979|12|07}}
|[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_trek_the_motion_picture/ 42%]
+
|[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_trek_the_motion_picture/ 45%]
 
|[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=startrek.htm $82,258,456]
 
|[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=startrek.htm $82,258,456]
 
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079945/business $56,741,544]
 
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079945/business $56,741,544]
 
|$139,000,000
 
|$139,000,000
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079945/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $35,000,000]<ref>In the 1980s and 1990s a figure of approximately $45 million dollar was widely propagated in numerous publications, including those licensed by Paramount Pictures. For a treatment on the apparent discrepancy, please see: [[Star Trek: The Motion Picture#Costs and revenues|''The Motion Picture'': Costs and revenues]].</ref>
  +
|397%
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|2}}
 
|{{film|2}}
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|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/business $18,087,037]
 
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/business $18,087,037]
 
|$97,000,000
 
|$97,000,000
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $11,000,000]
  +
|882%<ref>The profitability of ''Wrath of Khan'' is flattered, as that production made use of a substantial amount of special and visual effects assets, such as studio models, props, sets and even complete visual effects sequences produced for the previous movie, and which do not show up in its production costs.</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|3}}
 
|{{film|3}}
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|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088170/business $10,528,954]
 
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088170/business $10,528,954]
 
|$87,000,000
 
|$87,000,000
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088170/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $17,000,000]
  +
|512%
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|4}}
 
|{{film|4}}
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|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092007/business $23,286,868]
 
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092007/business $23,286,868]
 
|$133,000,000
 
|$133,000,000
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092007/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $25,000,000]
  +
|532%
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|5}}
 
|{{film|5}}
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|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098382/business $17,999,951]
 
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098382/business $17,999,951]
 
|$70,210,000
 
|$70,210,000
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098382/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $27,800,000]
  +
|253%
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|6}}
 
|{{film|6}}
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|$22,000,000
 
|$22,000,000
 
|$96,888,996
 
|$96,888,996
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102975/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $30,000,000]
  +
|323%
 
|-
 
|-
| colspan="5" |TOS Totals
+
|colspan="5"|TOS Totals
 
|'''67% (avg)'''
 
|'''67% (avg)'''
 
|'''$474,454,642'''
 
|'''$474,454,642'''
 
|'''$148,644,354'''
 
|'''$148,644,354'''
 
|'''$623,098,996'''
 
|'''$623,098,996'''
  +
|'''$145,800,000'''
  +
|'''427% (avg)'''
 
|}
 
|}
   
 
=== ''The Next Generation'' films ===
 
=== ''The Next Generation'' films ===
 
Films which feature the cast of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. Unlike the preceding [[TOS]] films, these did not carry sequel numbers ("Star Trek VII," "Star Trek VIII," "Star Trek IX" or "Star Trek X") except in pre-production. However, the numbers do appear on new disc covers.
 
Films which feature the cast of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. Unlike the preceding [[TOS]] films, these did not carry sequel numbers ("Star Trek VII," "Star Trek VIII," "Star Trek IX" or "Star Trek X") except in pre-production. However, the numbers do appear on new disc covers.
{| class="grey" width="100%"
+
{|class="grey" width="100%"
 
!Title
 
!Title
 
!Film #
 
!Film #
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!Foreign Gross
 
!Foreign Gross
 
!Worldwide Gross
 
!Worldwide Gross
  +
!Budget (est)
  +
!Profitability Gross
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|7}}
 
|{{film|7}}
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|$42,400,000
 
|$42,400,000
 
|$118,071,125
 
|$118,071,125
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111280/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $35,000,000]
  +
|337%<ref>Produced back-to back with its television progenitor and therefore with much of its setup already in place, the profitability of ''Generations'' is, like that of ''Wrath of Khan'', also somewhat flattered, as that production too made use of a substantial amount of special and visual effects assets, such as studio models, costumes, props, and sets produced for the television properties, which do not show up in the budget.</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|8}}
 
|{{film|8}}
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|$54,000,000
 
|$54,000,000
 
|$146,027,888
 
|$146,027,888
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117731/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $45,000,000]
  +
|324%
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|9}}
 
|{{film|9}}
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|$42,400,000
 
|$42,400,000
 
|$112,587,658
 
|$112,587,658
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120844/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $58,000,000]
  +
|194%
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|10}}
 
|{{film|10}}
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|$24,058,417
 
|$24,058,417
 
|$67,312,826
 
|$67,312,826
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0253754/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $60,000,000]
  +
|112%
 
|-
 
|-
| colspan="5" |TNG Totals
+
|colspan="5"|TNG Totals
 
|'''57% (avg)'''
 
|'''57% (avg)'''
 
|'''$281,141,080'''
 
|'''$281,141,080'''
 
|'''$162,858,417'''
 
|'''$162,858,417'''
 
|'''$443,999,497'''
 
|'''$443,999,497'''
  +
|'''$198,000,000'''
  +
|'''224% (avg)'''
 
|}
 
|}
   
 
===Alternate Reality films===
 
===Alternate Reality films===
 
Films which feature a different version of the TOS characters portrayed by a new cast, and set in an [[alternate reality]] from earlier films and series.
 
Films which feature a different version of the TOS characters portrayed by a new cast, and set in an [[alternate reality]] from earlier films and series.
{| class="grey" width="100%"
+
{|class="grey" width="100%"
 
!Title
 
!Title
 
!Film #
 
!Film #
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!Foreign Gross
 
!Foreign Gross
 
!Worldwide Gross
 
!Worldwide Gross
  +
!Budget (est)
  +
!Profitability Gross
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|11}}
 
|{{film|11}}
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|{{Trek box office|int=yes}}
 
|{{Trek box office|int=yes}}
 
|{{Trek box office|world=yes}}
 
|{{Trek box office|world=yes}}
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $140,000,000]
  +
|276%
 
|-
 
|-
 
|{{film|12}}
 
|{{film|12}}
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|[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_trek_into_darkness/ 87%]
 
|[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_trek_into_darkness/ 87%]
 
|[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=startrek12.htm $228,778,661]
 
|[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=startrek12.htm $228,778,661]
|$238,586,585
+
|$238,602,923
|$467,365,246
+
|$467,381,584
  +
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408101/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus $190,000,000]
  +
|246%
 
|-
 
|-
  +
<!--|{{film|13}}
| colspan="5" |AR Totals
 
  +
|13
  +
|3
  +
|
  +
|{{dateserial|2016}}
  +
|
  +
|
  +
|
  +
|-->
  +
|-
 
|colspan="5"|AR Totals
 
|'''91% (avg)'''
 
|'''91% (avg)'''
 
|'''$486,508,680'''
 
|'''$486,508,680'''
|'''$366,537,012'''
+
|'''$366,553,350'''
|'''$853,045,692'''
+
|'''$853,062,030'''
  +
|'''$330,000,000'''
  +
|'''259% (avg)'''
 
|}
 
|}
  +
:''Footnotes'':
  +
<small><references /></small>
   
==Summary [SPOILERS]==
+
==Summary==
 
{{film|1}} (1979) reunites the [[TOS]] cast aboard the original {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}}, refurbished after its five-year mission as documented in the television series. The story was originally conceived as the pilot episode of the aborted ''[[Star Trek: Phase II]]'' series, in which the now-[[Admiral]] [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] and crew must engage with a powerful, threatening force that is heading directly towards [[Earth]].
 
{{film|1}} (1979) reunites the [[TOS]] cast aboard the original {{USS|Enterprise|NCC-1701}}, refurbished after its five-year mission as documented in the television series. The story was originally conceived as the pilot episode of the aborted ''[[Star Trek: Phase II]]'' series, in which the now-[[Admiral]] [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] and crew must engage with a powerful, threatening force that is heading directly towards [[Earth]].
   
Line 205: Line 253:
   
 
===Future===
 
===Future===
:''See {{film|13}}.''
+
:''Main article: {{film|13}}.''
  +
The current cast of the films are not contracted for a fourth film: [[John Cho]] has acknowledged recasting one or two characters would be pointless, but that getting them all back together might be "tough". [http://www.craveonline.co.uk/tv/interviews/767731-exclusive-interview-john-cho-selfie-sleepy-hollow-star-trek]
  +
  +
===Performance summary===
 
Domestically, combined and not taking inflation into account, the ''Star Trek'' features have grossed over US$1,624,963,755. Prior to the release of {{film|11}}, {{film|4}} had grossed more than the other films, coming in at US$109,713,132, while {{film|8}} had the largest-grossing opening weekend of all the films. {{film|11}} surpassed both of these records, but was itself surpassed by {{film|12}}. [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=startrek.htm]
  +
  +
Using the figures in the above tables, a "Top 5" worldwide performance record for the movies as of 2014 is summarized in the table below, which hold a few surprises. The costs are, as expected, in accordance with the sequence the movies were produced in, with the ''Motion Picture'', being the sole exception due to [[Star Trek: The Motion Picture#Costs and revenues|various reasons]]. A bit surprising is that the best received movies are not always in concordance with them also being the highest grossing, ''The Voyage Home'', being the most consistent one. However, the biggest surprise in this regard, the bad press the movie received &ndash; among others by the studio itself, who considered the movie a failure at he time &ndash; in the 1980s and 1990s notwithstanding, is that ''The Motion Picture'' as one of the worst received movies, is concurrently also one of the highest grossing, as well as one of the most profitable movies in the franchise.
  +
  +
The table shows that the TNG movies were the least successful ones of the franchise in critical and financial terms, ''Star Trek First Contact'' being the sole positive exception, the ''apparent'' profitability of ''Generations'' (see that movie's footnote above) notwithstanding.
  +
  +
Yet, while there is a correlation between costs and profitability, the real surprise lies in the recent lack of positive correlation between gross revenues and profitability. That ''Nemesis'' and ''Insurrection'' occupy the first two places in the worst profitability ranking, is hardly a surprise, considering their poor performance at the box-office. But a break occurred in the correlation with the two alternate reality movies, who were the most successful in terms of box-office revenues of the franchise by far, but who also rank among the least profitable ones, making it appear that the more successful a movie is at the box-office, the worse its profitability becomes.
  +
  +
The significant jump in production budget of 29% (over ten times the official inflation rate for the period 1996-1998) between the movies ''First Contact'' and ''Insurrection'', validated [[Adam Lebowitz]]'s assertion that the technique of [[CGI|computer generated imagery]] (CGI) for producing [[:Category: Visual effects companies|visual effects]], which was used almost exclusively for the latter film and contrary to popular belief, is '''''not''''' cheaper than the traditional way of producing these. "''A lot of people say, 'CGI is a lot cheaper, isn't it,' but the way I like to think of it is that CGI is not cheaper necessarily, but you get a lot more for your money and you can tweak it a lot more.''", Lebowitz has stated. ({{STTM|1|6|47}})
  +
  +
''Star Trek Into Darkness'' marks the first time that a ''Star Trek'' film performed better in the foreign markets than the home market, confirming an industry trend that has started in the early 2000s. [http://www.businessinsider.com/hollywood-is-making-films-for-foreign-markets-2012-9]
  +
{|class="grey" width="100%"
  +
!Ranking per 2014
  +
!Best reception
  +
!Worst reception
  +
!Highest worldwide gross
  +
!Lowest worldwide gross
  +
!Most costly
  +
!Least costly
  +
!Most profitable gross
  +
!Least profitable gross
  +
|-
  +
|1
  +
|{{film|11}}
  +
|{{film|5}}
  +
|{{film|12}}
  +
|{{film|10}}
  +
|{{film|12}}
  +
|{{film|2}}
  +
|{{film|2}}
  +
|{{film|10}}
  +
|-
  +
|2
  +
|{{film|8}}
  +
|{{film|10}}
  +
|{{film|11}}
  +
|{{film|5}}
  +
|{{film|11}}
  +
|{{film|3}}
  +
|{{film|4}}
  +
|{{film|9}}
  +
|-
  +
|3
  +
|{{film|2}}
  +
|{{film|1}}
  +
|{{film|8}}
  +
|{{film|3}}
  +
|{{film|10}}
  +
|{{film|4}}
  +
|{{film|3}}
  +
|{{film|12}}
  +
|-
  +
|4
  +
|{{film|12}}
  +
|{{film|7}}
  +
|{{film|1}}
  +
|{{film|2}}
  +
|{{film|9}}
  +
|{{film|5}}
  +
|{{film|1}}
  +
|{{film|11}}
  +
|-
  +
|5
  +
|{{film|4}}
  +
|{{film|9}}
  +
|{{film|4}}
  +
|{{film|9}}
  +
|{{film|8}}
  +
|{{film|6}}
  +
|{{film|7}}
  +
|{{film|6}}
  +
|}
  +
:<small>''Note: If inflation adjusted, a slightly different ranking in costs and revenues might occur, but this has no influence on the profitability ranking as it is a relational calculation of costs and revenues. For convenience sake the absolute figures as listed in the above tables are used.''</small>
   
 
==Cast and crew listings==
 
==Cast and crew listings==
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* To date, no principal cast members from [[ENT]] have appeared in any of the films, although [[Peter Weller]] (who guest starred in two episodes of that series) plays a major role in {{film|12}}.
 
* To date, no principal cast members from [[ENT]] have appeared in any of the films, although [[Peter Weller]] (who guest starred in two episodes of that series) plays a major role in {{film|12}}.
 
* Between {{film|4}} and {{film|11}}, all the films were produced in tandem with one or more of the spin-off series. {{film|5}} and {{film|6}} were made during the run of TNG; production on {{film|7}} began while the final episodes of TNG were being shot, and while [[DS9]] was in production; {{film|8}} and {{film|9}} were both produced during the runs of DS9 and [[VOY]], and {{film|10}} was made while [[ENT]] was in production. {{film|11}} was the first since {{film|4}} to be produced without any other ''Star Trek'' project in progress.
 
* Between {{film|4}} and {{film|11}}, all the films were produced in tandem with one or more of the spin-off series. {{film|5}} and {{film|6}} were made during the run of TNG; production on {{film|7}} began while the final episodes of TNG were being shot, and while [[DS9]] was in production; {{film|8}} and {{film|9}} were both produced during the runs of DS9 and [[VOY]], and {{film|10}} was made while [[ENT]] was in production. {{film|11}} was the first since {{film|4}} to be produced without any other ''Star Trek'' project in progress.
* Combined, and not taking inflation into account, the ''Star Trek'' features have grossed over US$1,624,963,755. Prior to the release of {{film|11}}, {{film|4}} had grossed more than the other films, coming in at US$109,713,132, while {{film|8}} had the largest-grossing opening weekend of all the films. {{film|11}} surpassed both of these records, but was itself surpassed by {{film|12}}. [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=startrek.htm]
 
 
* Perhaps reflecting their popularity as an alien race, the Klingons appear more than any other throughout the series of films - they appear, or are mentioned, in all twelve of the films released so far. The only two in which no Klingon characters appear are {{film|2}} and {{film|11}}. Interestingly, both films also depict the [[Kobayashi Maru scenario]], which features Klingon ships.
 
* Perhaps reflecting their popularity as an alien race, the Klingons appear more than any other throughout the series of films - they appear, or are mentioned, in all twelve of the films released so far. The only two in which no Klingon characters appear are {{film|2}} and {{film|11}}. Interestingly, both films also depict the [[Kobayashi Maru scenario]], which features Klingon ships.
   

Revision as of 14:06, 2 November 2014

Template:Realworld

Films

The Original Series films

Films which feature the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series.

Title Film # TOS # Stardate US Release Date Critical Reception[1] Domestic Gross Foreign Gross Worldwide Gross[2] Budget (est) Profitability Gross[3]
Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1 1 7410.2 - 7414.1 1979-12-07 45% $82,258,456 $56,741,544 $139,000,000 $35,000,000[4] 397%
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 2 2 8130.3 - 8141.6 1982-06-04 91% $78,912,963 $18,087,037 $97,000,000 $11,000,000 882%[5]
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 3 3 8210.3 1984-06-01 77% $76,471,046 $10,528,954 $87,000,000 $17,000,000 512%
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 4 4 8390.0 1986-11-26 84% $109,713,132 $23,286,868 $133,000,000 $25,000,000 532%
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 5 5 8454.1 1989-06-09 21% $52,210,049 $17,999,951 $70,210,000 $27,800,000 253%
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 6 6 9521.6 - 9529.1. 1991-12-06 83% $74,888,996 $22,000,000 $96,888,996 $30,000,000 323%
TOS Totals 67% (avg) $474,454,642 $148,644,354 $623,098,996 $145,800,000 427% (avg)

The Next Generation films

Films which feature the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Unlike the preceding TOS films, these did not carry sequel numbers ("Star Trek VII," "Star Trek VIII," "Star Trek IX" or "Star Trek X") except in pre-production. However, the numbers do appear on new disc covers.

Title Film # TNG # Stardate US Release Date Critical Reception Domestic Gross Foreign Gross Worldwide Gross Budget (est) Profitability Gross
Star Trek Generations 7 1 48632.4 - 48650.1 1994-11-18 48% $75,671,125 $42,400,000 $118,071,125 $35,000,000 337%[6]
Star Trek: First Contact 8 2 50893.5 1996-11-22 92% $92,027,888 $54,000,000 $146,027,888 $45,000,000 324%
Star Trek: Insurrection 9 3 52200 (approx) 1998-12-11 56% $70,187,658 $42,400,000 $112,587,658 $58,000,000 194%
Star Trek Nemesis 10 4 56844.9 2002-12-13 38% $43,254,409 $24,058,417 $67,312,826 $60,000,000 112%
TNG Totals 57% (avg) $281,141,080 $162,858,417 $443,999,497 $198,000,000 224% (avg)

Alternate Reality films

Films which feature a different version of the TOS characters portrayed by a new cast, and set in an alternate reality from earlier films and series.

Title Film # AR # Stardate US Release Date Critical Reception Domestic Gross Foreign Gross Worldwide Gross Budget (est) Profitability Gross
Star Trek 11 1 2233.04 - 2258.42 2009-05-08 95% $257,730,019 $127,950,427 $385,680,446 $140,000,000 276%
Star Trek Into Darkness 12 2 2259.55 2013-05-16 87% $228,778,661 $238,602,923 $467,381,584 $190,000,000 246%
AR Totals 91% (avg) $486,508,680 $366,553,350 $853,062,030 $330,000,000 259% (avg)
Footnotes:
  1. Approval rates as calculated by the critical film review website Rotten Tomatoes.
  2. These figures include worldwide box-office takes only. Every other form of revenue, such as for merchandise, home media format sales, rentals, television rights and the like, are excluded from the figures. Revenue and cost figures as submitted by the studio to the movie website IMDb
  3. Percentages above 100% indicate profit, below 100%, loss and at 100% means the production exactly recouped its production costs.
  4. In the 1980s and 1990s a figure of approximately $45 million dollar was widely propagated in numerous publications, including those licensed by Paramount Pictures. For a treatment on the apparent discrepancy, please see: The Motion Picture: Costs and revenues.
  5. The profitability of Wrath of Khan is flattered, as that production made use of a substantial amount of special and visual effects assets, such as studio models, props, sets and even complete visual effects sequences produced for the previous movie, and which do not show up in its production costs.
  6. Produced back-to back with its television progenitor and therefore with much of its setup already in place, the profitability of Generations is, like that of Wrath of Khan, also somewhat flattered, as that production too made use of a substantial amount of special and visual effects assets, such as studio models, costumes, props, and sets produced for the television properties, which do not show up in the budget.

Summary

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) reunites the TOS cast aboard the original USS Enterprise, refurbished after its five-year mission as documented in the television series. The story was originally conceived as the pilot episode of the aborted Star Trek: Phase II series, in which the now-Admiral Kirk and crew must engage with a powerful, threatening force that is heading directly towards Earth.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) together form a loose trilogy, beginning with the reintroduction of an old enemy from a popular TOS episode ("Space Seed") who resumes his conflict with Kirk in epic fashion, leading to the creation of planet Genesis, the death of Spock and his "burial" on Genesis, the destruction of the Enterprise during Kirk's efforts to reunite Spock's body with his Katra and ultimately a time-travel adventure to 1986 aboard a captured Klingon vessel (Bounty) in order to save Earth from destruction.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) moves Kirk, demoted back to captain as a result of defying Starfleet orders in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and crew onto the new USS Enterprise-A, which is hijacked by a renegade Vulcan (Sybok), who pilots it to the center of the galaxy in an attempt to find the source of creation.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) sees Kirk and crew attempting to prevent derailment of the Federation/Klingon peace talks by conspirators from both sides. As well as bringing the TOS cast to its retirement, the film also ties up various threads first established in the series (most notably, the conflict between the Federation and the Klingons) and paves the way for the story lines of TNG, set some eighty years later.

Produced during the fall of the Soviet Union, the film's plot may be regarded as a metaphor for those events and the effect they had on international relations at that time.

Star Trek Generations (1994) brings the cast of TNG to the big screen, set less than a year after the end of the series ("All Good Things...") and filmed straight after the completion of its last episodes. Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D must try to stop a brilliant scientist (Tolian Soran) from committing an act of genocide in order to enter the Nexus, a mysterious hedonic realm in which time has no meaning. Appearances by three of the TOS cast (Kirk, Scotty and Chekov) and the heroic death of Kirk who joins Picard by means of the Nexus, served to "pass the torch" from the old generation to the next; the appearance of recurring enemies Lursa and B'Etor and the revelation of their fate provides a key link with the TNG series. The film also includes the destruction of the Enterprise-D.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996) brings back the TNG cast in their first truly independent big screen adventure aboard the new USS Enterprise-E. Picard and his crew are pitted against their deadliest foe from the series, the Borg, who travel back in time to prevent the first warp flight by Zefram Cochrane.

In Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), Picard and crew discover a covert effort by Starfleet, in co-operation with the belligerent Son'a, to relocate the inhabitants of a "fountain of youth" planet. Standing by his morals, Picard must take up arms against the Federation to save paradise.

Star Trek Nemesis (2002) sees Picard and the Enterprise ordered to investigate the sudden fall of the Romulan government, replaced by a leader from their neighboring race, the Remans. The dark secret of this new leader, Shinzon, brings Picard into conflict in a way he never thought possible, and culminates in a fight to save Earth from a terrible weapon – at great cost. With the death or departure of several main characters – Riker, Troi, Data, and Beverly Crusher – this film marks the end of the TNG cast's adventures. Much as with the (chronological) final big screen appearance of the original cast, which laid the foundations of peace between the Federation and the Klingons, this film includes the establishment of an alliance between the Federation and the Romulans, enemies throughout the TNG era just as the Klingons had been in TOS.

Star Trek (2009) creates a new timeline in the Star Trek franchise, which is tied directly to the Prime Universe, effecting a return to the TOS era, albeit one populated by an all-new cast of actors. It also features a new look, and remains in-universe by explaining all changes as being inadvertently caused by time-traveling Romulan villain Nero. This film focuses on younger versions of Kirk, Spock and the crew and showcases their very first mission aboard the Enterprise.

The sequel Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) picks up a year after the first film, where the crew is tested as they are sent to apprehend John Harrison, a traitor and mass murderer, and uncover corruption and a conspiracy to militarize Starfleet from within.

Future

Main article: Star Trek Beyond.

The current cast of the films are not contracted for a fourth film: John Cho has acknowledged recasting one or two characters would be pointless, but that getting them all back together might be "tough". [1]

Performance summary

Domestically, combined and not taking inflation into account, the Star Trek features have grossed over US$1,624,963,755. Prior to the release of Star Trek, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home had grossed more than the other films, coming in at US$109,713,132, while Star Trek: First Contact had the largest-grossing opening weekend of all the films. Star Trek surpassed both of these records, but was itself surpassed by Star Trek Into Darkness. [2]

Using the figures in the above tables, a "Top 5" worldwide performance record for the movies as of 2014 is summarized in the table below, which hold a few surprises. The costs are, as expected, in accordance with the sequence the movies were produced in, with the Motion Picture, being the sole exception due to various reasons. A bit surprising is that the best received movies are not always in concordance with them also being the highest grossing, The Voyage Home, being the most consistent one. However, the biggest surprise in this regard, the bad press the movie received – among others by the studio itself, who considered the movie a failure at he time – in the 1980s and 1990s notwithstanding, is that The Motion Picture as one of the worst received movies, is concurrently also one of the highest grossing, as well as one of the most profitable movies in the franchise.

The table shows that the TNG movies were the least successful ones of the franchise in critical and financial terms, Star Trek First Contact being the sole positive exception, the apparent profitability of Generations (see that movie's footnote above) notwithstanding.

Yet, while there is a correlation between costs and profitability, the real surprise lies in the recent lack of positive correlation between gross revenues and profitability. That Nemesis and Insurrection occupy the first two places in the worst profitability ranking, is hardly a surprise, considering their poor performance at the box-office. But a break occurred in the correlation with the two alternate reality movies, who were the most successful in terms of box-office revenues of the franchise by far, but who also rank among the least profitable ones, making it appear that the more successful a movie is at the box-office, the worse its profitability becomes.

The significant jump in production budget of 29% (over ten times the official inflation rate for the period 1996-1998) between the movies First Contact and Insurrection, validated Adam Lebowitz's assertion that the technique of computer generated imagery (CGI) for producing visual effects, which was used almost exclusively for the latter film and contrary to popular belief, is not cheaper than the traditional way of producing these. "A lot of people say, 'CGI is a lot cheaper, isn't it,' but the way I like to think of it is that CGI is not cheaper necessarily, but you get a lot more for your money and you can tweak it a lot more.", Lebowitz has stated. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 6, p. 47)

Star Trek Into Darkness marks the first time that a Star Trek film performed better in the foreign markets than the home market, confirming an industry trend that has started in the early 2000s. [3]

Ranking per 2014 Best reception Worst reception Highest worldwide gross Lowest worldwide gross Most costly Least costly Most profitable gross Least profitable gross
1 Star Trek Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Star Trek Into Darkness Star Trek Nemesis Star Trek Into Darkness Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Star Trek Nemesis
2 Star Trek: First Contact Star Trek Nemesis Star Trek Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Star Trek Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Star Trek: Insurrection
3 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Star Trek: The Motion Picture Star Trek: First Contact Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Star Trek Nemesis Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Star Trek Into Darkness
4 Star Trek Into Darkness Star Trek Generations Star Trek: The Motion Picture Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Star Trek: Insurrection Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Star Trek: The Motion Picture Star Trek
5 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Star Trek: Insurrection Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Star Trek: Insurrection Star Trek: First Contact Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Star Trek Generations Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Note: If inflation adjusted, a slightly different ranking in costs and revenues might occur, but this has no influence on the profitability ranking as it is a relational calculation of costs and revenues. For convenience sake the absolute figures as listed in the above tables are used.

Cast and crew listings

Background

The odd number / even number phenomenon

  • A number of Star Trek fans have expressed the opinion that the even-numbered films are generally better than the odd-numbered ones. Such an appraisal is obviously subjective, but it has its roots in a number of factors. The even-numbered films (apart from Star Trek Nemesis) have enjoyed relatively greater success at the box office and higher critical acclaim, as opposed to various lukewarm reviews received by the odd-numbered films (with the exception of Star Trek). Fans and critics have also noted that, in their opinions, the even-numbered films are better paced and more action-packed, with more memorable story lines, eminently quotable scripts and exciting special effects. (The first two films are often held up as examples of this trend from the outset of the series: Star Trek: The Motion Picture has very few battle or dramatic action sequences, presenting Kirk and crew with a mostly cerebral challenge, while Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is dominated by epic conflict, resulting in several battle sequences and heavy damage to the Enterprise and its crew.)
  • By the time the TNG movies were being produced, the "odd/even" phenomenon was effectively regarded as a curse, with members of the production crew fearing that, despite their best efforts, future odd-numbered productions were fated to be less successful than even-numbered ones. Jonathan Frakes, when interviewed by Star Trek Monthly during pre-production for Star Trek: Insurrection, commented that he was looking forward to directing his second film "even though it's an odd-numbered Star Trek." In 2002, however, the phenomenon was broken by the release of Star Trek Nemesis, which experienced the lowest box-office takings of any Star Trek film to date and was poorly received by even long-standing fans. (Though to a few, this became an even further joke - a Star Trek film which was a multiple of five was cursed to fail catastrophically, as Nemesis pulled in poor reviews and revenue in a similar fashion to The Final Frontier.)
  • The phenomenon has seemingly been broken further by the critical success of Star Trek, which has obtained a 95% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an opening weekend gross of nearly twice the full run of Star Trek Nemesis. [5]
  • In a 1999 episode of the British sitcom Spaced, the phenomenon was mentioned by the show's lead character, Tim Bisley, who was played by Simon Pegg – an irony not lost on Pegg during and after his work on Star Trek.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

  • Whereas the preceding live-action television series had open endings that allowed for continuation into motion picture format, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ended quite firmly and conclusively, with all its various plot lines resolved and the departure of various main characters. Any subsequent film would therefore have required a significantly different premise and different casting, departing radically from the series' format which had been so familiar to its fan base. On the possibility of a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine film ever happening, Ira Steven Behr commented: "I don't think so. I think we could do a pretty kick-ass Deep Space Nine movie, but not even in my wildest imaginations do I consider it". He also commented "The only Trek I think about is Deep Space Nine, to be honest. If they did a Deep Space Nine film, I certainly would like to be involved if that ever happened, which I doubt". [6]
  • After the release of Star Trek: Insurrection, Patrick Stewart commented, "I think we should pass the mantle on to the Deep Space Nine characters. We don't want to become The Rolling Stones of the Star Trek films". [7] [8]
  • Andrew Robinson commented "My feeling is that there is never going to be a Deep Space Nine movie, they still have more to go with The Next Generation. I think it ("What You Leave Behind") was really the right way to end the series. [9]
  • A campaign for a Deep Space Nine film (or a miniseries) was launched in 2000 by fans Stacy Powell and Doug Wilson. Nana Visitor was thrilled to hear of the existence of the campaign and J.G. Hertzler and David B. Levinson joked with fans to "take one of these [flyers], don't throw it away or I'll come after you." [10] [11]
  • Fans Terry Harris and Gisele La Roche also launched a petition for a Deep Space Nine film, receiving several positive responses from actors. Template:Brokenlink
  • Notwithstanding the foregoing, elements from the series have appeared in all TNG films. The Enterprise-D crew wore the uniforms which had been introduced on Deep Space Nine (in addition to their own series' uniforms) in Star Trek Generations; the uniforms were also used on Star Trek: Voyager, which premiered several months after the film's release. The USS Defiant appears in the Battle of Sector 001 during Star Trek: First Contact, under the command of Worf (Michael Dorn), who had become a regular character on DS9 by that time; he also appears in Star Trek: Insurrection. Both Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek Nemesis contain references to the Dominion War story arc from the series. For Star Trek: Insurrection, a scene was written and filmed involving an appearance by Armin Shimerman as Quark; this was cut from the film, but a still from it can be found among the extras on the DVD release.
  • In 1998, Rick Berman commented "There are a few more movies left in the Generations franchise and there's a good chance we'll see a Deep Space Nine film. What we'd like to do is introduce a few of the characters from Deep Space into the next Generations movie just to tease audiences." [12]

Star Trek: Voyager / Star Trek: Enterprise

  • The conclusive endings of both these series likewise indicate little or no probability of future movies being based on them. During the run of Voyager, there was speculation amongst fans (via the internet and other media) that the series would end on a cliff-hanger, to be resolved in a theatrical motion picture, but the ultimate release of "Endgame" as the series finale proved that idea to be unfounded. The potential for continuation of the series has instead been explored in novels and fan-fiction.
  • There is a gap of six years between "Terra Prime" and "These Are the Voyages..." which could serve as the setting of an ENT movie, although the timeline position of Star Trek and its sequel suggests that this would be unlikely.
  • Star Trek Nemesis features a cameo by Kate Mulgrew, reprising her role as Kathryn Janeway from Voyager and thus marking the only direct big-screen appearance of any character from that series. (An EMH Mark I, played by Robert Picardo, appears briefly in First Contact, but this is not exactly the same character as the Holographic Doctor in the series.)
  • Nemesis also features a graphic containing a reference to a USS Archer, named after Captain Jonathan Archer, the main character in Enterprise.
  • Additionally, "Star Trek" features a reference to "Admiral Archer's prized beagle", intended by the writers to be a reference to Jonathan Archer, [13] and his beagle Porthos.
  • A replica of Enterprise (NX-01) appears in Star Trek Into Darkness, marking the first appearance of any element from that series on the big screen.

See also