Every Star Trek Movie, Ranked by Box Office

Science fiction has been integral in pushing the boundaries of storytelling forward since the inception of cinema, and the 1950s certainly saw a revival of interest in the genre. However, the debut of Star Trek changed the course of the science fiction genre forever, and continues to influence the way that the genre operates today. Gene Roddenberry’s classic adventure series included many great episodes centering on the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and the rest of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew that would become household names in the subsequent decades.

While the franchise is most often associated with the many television shows in its continuity, the Star Trek film franchise became a blockbuster saga in its own right. With films centered on the original cast, the new characters of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and a rebooted version of the franchise in the “Kelvin Timeline,” the Star Trek film saga is fascinating because of its three unique eras, each of which has both incredible highs and notorious failures. Here is every Star Trek movie, ranked by its global box office gross.

13 ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’ (2002)

Worldwide gross: $67,336,470

It’s really not all that surprising that Star Trek: Nemesis became the lowest grossing film in the Star Trek series thus far, as enthusiasm for the franchise had dwindled by the time that the fourth film starring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation hit theaters. Regarded as a resounding creative failure that failed to give the characters a proper sendoff,Star Trek: Nemesis brought in a measly global box office total of less than $68 million when it hit theaters in December 2002.

While the films starring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation never reached the popularity of their counterparts in the original series, Star Trek: Nemesis wasn’t even successful in satisfying fans of the show. The baffling decision to include Tom Hardy as Shinzon, the villainous clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), felt like a desperate move by Paramount Pictures to inject some momentum into a franchise that was on its way out.

Star Trek: Nemesis

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12 ‘Star Trek V: The Final Frontier’ (1989)

Worldwide gross: $70,200,000

While Leonard Nimoy proved himself to be a terrific filmmaker with his contributions to the Star Trek film franchise, the same could not be said of William Shatner. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was Shatner’s directorial debut, and became the lowest grossing film starring the cast of the original series. With a global box office gross of just over $70 million, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier marked a significant downward spiral for the saga based on the rapturous reception that the previous few installments in the series had received.

While the franchise itself was actually on an upward swing, as Star Trek: The Next Generation had premiered to great success two years prior, the poor box office performance of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is representative of its complete creative failures. Regarded as one of the worst in the series, the film failed to get viewers engaged in seeing it multiple times.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

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11 ‘Star Trek III: The Search for Spock’ (1984)

Worldwide gross: $87,000,000

Although the classic “odd/even” rule among Star Trek fans indicates that the odd-numbered films are the weakest, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is easily one of the most underrated films in the series. Capitalizing on the success of the previous entry, which had ended on a massive cliffhanger revolving around Spock’s fate, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock reached an impressive worldwide box office gross of $87 million.

While the film gave the series one of its best villains in Christopher Lloyd’s Klingon warrior Kruge, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock may not have appealed to viewers outside the niche fanbase. The film is largely reliant on references to both the previous films and the original series, and may have struggled connecting with viewers that were stepping into the franchise for the first time.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Admiral Kirk and his bridge crew risk their careers stealing the decommissioned U.S.S. Enterprise to return to the restricted Genesis Planet to recover Spock's body.

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10 ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’ (1982)

Worldwide gross: $95,800,000

Often regarded as the best and most emotional installment in the entire saga, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khanwas a box office hit that set the franchise up for future success. While its predecessor had ditched the action-adventure tone of the original series for a more artistic approach, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan felt like a return to form for the franchise. Its gross of over $95 million at the global box office is impressive considering that the original Star Trek show had been off the air for over a decade.

While fans of the franchise appreciated the more mature direction the film took, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan may have struggled to connect with younger viewers due to its dark tone. With significantly more violence and several major character deaths, it’s easily the most intense entry in the entire franchise.

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan

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9 ‘Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’ (1991)

Worldwide gross: $96,888,996

While it failed to reach the financial highs of some of its predecessors, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countryserved as a perfect sendoff for the cast of the original series. Ostensibly marketed as the “final adventure” for Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the classic U.S.S. Enterprise crew, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country grossed over $96 million at the global box office.

While it was hardly one of the biggest blockbusters in the saga, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country helped redeem the series after the disastrous performance by Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. By incorporating a memorable new antagonist in Christopher Plummer’s General Chang and reflecting on the era, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ushered out the first iteration of the franchise, giving room for the series to evolve in its future installments.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

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8 ‘Star Trek: Insurrection’ (1998)

Worldwide gross: $117,800,000

While the show itself produced countless great episodes, the films starring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation never occupied the same place with audiences that the original series cast had. While Star Trek: Insurrection performed surprisingly well at the box office considering the highly negative reviews, the film underperformed in comparison to its two direct predecessors, grossing a little over $117 million at the global box office.

The main issue was that the films starring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation never felt like “events,” as the series itself had only just wrapped up a few years prior. Considering audiences were used to seeing these characters on television, there was less enthusiasm behind seeing them on the big screen for what ostensibly felt like a two-part episode of the series. A lack of action and odd physical comedy certainly didn’t help Star Trek: Insurrection endear itself to fans of the show.

Star Trek: Insurrection

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7 ‘Star Trek Generations’ (1994)

Worldwide gross: $120,000,000

As the first of the films starring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation to hit theaters, Star Trek Generations generated a lot of enthusiasm based on the popularity of the show. While the original Star Trek series was canceled after three seasons, Star Trek: The Next Generation was a major television hit that earned multiple Primetime Emmy Awards and generated enthusiasm for its memorable cast of characters. While Star Trek Generations generally failed to live up to the hype, it nonetheless succeeded in grossing $120 million at the global box office.

In addition to seeing the beloved characters hit the big screen for the first time, Star Trek Generations got a boost in popularity thanks to an appearance by Captain Kirk. Shatner’s appearance in the film was enough to generate interest from audiences who had seen the character in previous films.

Star Trek: Generations

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6 ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home’ (1986)

Worldwide gross: $133,000,000

While many franchises begin to run out of creative juice by the time they reach their fourth installment, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Homeoutperformed its predecessors by adding more comedy and heart to the series. Although it continued the storyline introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home brought the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise to San Francisco for an adventure that felt like a typical 1980s comedy. With a greater appeal to non-Star Trek fans than previous entries, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home grossed $133 million at the global box office.

While it certainly pleased fans of the franchise with its references to the past, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is best remembered for its important message. The film’s pro-environmentalist themes have given it much more longevity than other entries in the series.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

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5 ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ (1979)

Worldwide gross: $139,000,000

The science fiction genre was completely re-energized by the success of Star Wars in 1977, inspiring other studios to quickly release new films within the genre by the time that the decade concluded. While it had been over a decade since the original series had been canceled, Star Trek: The Motion Picturewas a box office smash hit that revitalized interest in the franchise. Earning a global box office total of $139 million, Star Trek: The Motion Picture became one of 1979’s top grossers.

The success of Star Trek: The Motion Picture is somewhat surprising considering how offbeat and cerebral the film was. Opting for a nuanced approach to sci-fi similar to 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was certainly an interesting first entry in the series due to its vast tonal and aesthetic differences with its sequels.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

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4 ‘Star Trek: First Contact’ (1996)

Worldwide gross: $150,000,000

While Star Trek Generations has been a modest financial hit and earned mixed reviews from hardcore fans of the series, Star Trek: First Contactbecame the most successful film starring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. With its global box office total of $150 million, the film clearly managed to satisfy both fans of the series and appeal to broader audiences.

While the storyline involving James Cromwell as the scientist Zefram Cochrane spoke of more optimistic elements of the series, Star Trek: First Contact was an action film first and foremost. By pitting Picard and his crew against the villainous Borg aliens, Star Trek: First Contact was easily the most intense entry in the series since Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Considering the boom in popularity of action cinema in the 1990s, it's unsurprising that Star Trek: First Contact’s action-heavy tone yielded it great success.

Star Trek: First Contact

The Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species. Captain Picard and his crew pursue them to ensure that Zefram Cochrane makes his maiden flight reaching warp speed.

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3 ‘Star Trek Beyond’ (2016)

Worldwide gross: $335,673,708

Despite a box office total of over $335 million at the global box office, Star Trek Beyondwas a significant financial failure that put the future of the franchise in serious jeopardy. Despite a massive budget of $185 million and a strong marketing campaign, Star Trek Beyond grossed over $100 million less than its predecessor. Star Trek Beyond’s underperformance is disappointing considering how thoughtful, heartfelt, and entertaining the film is in comparison to more recent iterations of the franchise.

Star Trek Beyond’s financial underperformance has stalled work on another sequel, as a fourth entry in the “Kelvin timeline” series has been stuck in development hell for nearly a decade. Given how radically the cinematic marketplace has changed in the years since the film’s release, the Star Trek franchise will need a bold reinvention to once again rank among the industry’s most valuable franchises.

Star Trek Beyond

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2 ‘Star Trek’ (2009)

Worldwide gross: $386,839,614

The Star Trek franchise was considered dead in the early 21st century, as the failure of the film series involving the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast and the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise suggested a grim future for the series. However, Paramount Pictures decided to hire Lost innovator J.J. Abrams to retool the series and effectively reboot it. 2009’s Star Trek managed to introduce the franchise to a new generation, earning an impressive global box office total of over $386 million.

While the insertion of more action certainly didn’t hurt, the Star Trek reboot succeeded because of the appeal of its new cast. Chris Pine’s brilliant reinvention of Captain Kirk managed to endear itself to a younger generation of viewers in the same way that Shatner’s work had for previous generations. It provided a comeback for the series and was a critical hit, earning the franchise its first Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Star Trek

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1 ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ (2013)

Worldwide gross: $467,381,584

While the way in which it retooled elements of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan remains divisive among fans of the series, Star Trek Into Darknesswas an unprecedented box office juggernaut that easily became the biggest film in the entire series. While the franchise has certainly produced some commercial hits, Star Trek Into Darkness’ amazing global box office gross of over $467 million placed it as one of the highest grossing films of 2013.

It’s difficult to imagine the Star Trek franchise ever reaching the financial heights of Star Trek Into Darkness ever again, as the saga has stuck to its television roots in recent years. While the announcement of the Michelle Yeoh-led film Star Trek: Section 31 certainly has potential, it will take a significant marketing push to earn the same enthusiasm that Star Trek Into Darkness generated over a decade ago.

Star Trek Into Darkness

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