Chris Pine Thinks Star Trek Films Shouldn’t Chase Marvel-Size Audiences

screenrant.com:

Chris Pine says Star Trek films shouldn't be chasing Marvel-size audiences. Pine plays Captain James T. Kirk in the rebooted feature franchise (known as the Kelvin timeline), appearing in the first three films in the series, including 2009's Star Trek, 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, and 2016's Star Trek Beyond. The feature franchise has been on an extended hiatus since the last film was released with the focus shifting predominantly to the streaming shows on Paramount Plus. After numerous creative shifts, Star Trek 4 is now set for a 2023 release with WandaVision creator Matt Shakman at the helm.

The new Star Trek films have amassed a global haul of $1.1 billion, which is a far cry from the gross of a single Marvel film on a good day. By contrast, Spider-Man: No Way Home made $1.8 billion alone globally, but even a smaller-scale profit Marvel film like Eternals still made more than Star Trek Beyond, which presents a difficult monetary scenario for the studio in relation to cost. Ultimately, Star Trek films cost about as much to make as a Marvel film, but the profits aren't even close, particularly in hitting the magical billion-dollar mark for a single film.

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While talking to Deadline, Pine mentions the difficult dynamic of competing for Marvel audiences, which he believes Star Trek shouldn't be chasing. Pine mentions that the franchise has always been after the international market and hitting that billion-dollar mark because that's what Marvel was doing. However, Pine thinks that Star Trek should operate in a smaller zone, with the movies being made «for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star