If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
How Marvel Studios' successes hurt the Star Trek revival movies, according to Chris Pine himself
How the rise of the MCU may have toppled the Star Trek film franchise.
Popverse's top stories of the day
- Peter Pan is finally growing up in new sequel called The Last Boy - but he is fighting it all the way
- Once Upon a Time's Lana Parrilla, Sean Maguire, & Rebecca Mader are coming to ECCC 2025!
- Star Wars' John Boyega is coming to Chicago's C2E2 2025
Who would win in a fight, Captain America or Captain Kirk? According to Chris Pine, his Star Trek films never stood a chance against Marvel’s mighty movie machine. Speaking to a crowd at ACE Superhero Comic Con, Pine said that while his Trek films did well at the box office, Marvel’s success gave the studio unrealistic expectations, which ultimately killed the franchise.
“We made our film in 2007 and then I think Iron Man came out in 2008. It was right when the billion-dollar machine that is Marvel began, so the metrics of success shifted in this huge way. Our first film made like $400 million, a lot of fucking money by any standard or metric of success financially speaking. But, compared to the billion-dollar franchises that were Thor and the Captains, we just couldn’t compete,” Pine said.
Some of Pine’s memory is a bit off. To clarify, Pine’s first Star Trek movie was filmed in 2007 as he states, but it was released in 2009, one year after Iron Man. While Marvel’s early films did well, they didn’t start grossing $1 billion until 2012’s The Avengers. Prior to that, Captain America: The First Avenger grossed $370 million worldwide. This was less than the 2009 Star Trek film and 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness.
However, Pine is right about Marvel changing studio and audience perception. In 2016 Star Trek Beyond made a worldwide gross of $343 million. That same year, Marvel Studios released Captain America: Civil War, which surpassed $1 billion. The Enterprise was looking pretty weak compared to the Avengers’ Quinjet.
Did the Avengers take down the Enterprise crew, or is this a case of box office bad luck? Drop your theories in the comments.
Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:
And if you're looking for specific franchises or genres, we've also got lists for the:
Finally, if you're a fan of superheroes and not specific to just Marvel or DC, we have overall guides to:
About ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024
Dates
-
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.
Comments
Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.