Huge Opening Expected for Star Trek

Posted on May 6, 2009

Variety expects the new Star Trek movie to "beam up audiences." They write that the film is opening in 3,800 theatres in the U.S. and many theaters the same weekend overseas. Only Japan and Mexico have alternative opening dates.

In the U.S., "Star Trek" rolls out Thursday at 7 p.m. in 3,800 theaters. It's opening day and date be in virtually every major territory, save for Japan and Mexico.
Par has come under intense scrutiny for trying to relaunch the classic sci-fi franchise, which has spawned 10 films, the last of which -- "Star Trek: Nemesis" -- was released in 2002.
It's a formidable challenge. Younger moviegoers in the U.S. aren't generally familiar with the franchise, while foreign audiences have never been big fans of "Star Trek" films.
In addition to a huge domestic push, Paramount has launched perhaps the biggest international publicity campaign in its history for "Star Trek," directed by J.J. Abrams and toplining Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. Script was penned by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.

The opening should be huge. The promotional blitz has been big and the film's stars have been everywhere. Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that Fandago is showing strong early ticket sales. The only question about how big the box office will be for Star Trek is how much box office umph does Wolverine have left that could chip into Star Trek's opening weekend.

SCIENCE FICTION
STAR TREK