various reasons for the underperforming box office
-its the 3rd movie (not all franchises go ballistic Skyfall style) Not the anticipated first movie or the sequel..
-3 year wait coming after the 4 years between ID/09 therefore trek losing its sheen/momentum from the big success of 2009 (same can be said for most sequels of recent times, but now post MCU everything seems only a couple of years from last one even less, and theres so many new 'blockbusters' coming out that stuff that takes its time like was the norm get lost in it all)
-STID – trekkies no seem to like it so like the way VI and Nem did less BO due to the previous installments?? (but general audiences didnt mind it/thought was a decent space action film? Also at the time I remember a general feeling that the publicity of Abrams being revealed as the Star Wars director would overshadow STID/make it less of an event, but it probably helped with the non Trek audience!) but basically maybe its a case of everyone loved ST09 so STID did better. Not so many liked STID so STB suffered?
-Not following up the STID threads? - war with Klingons (the klingons center stage in the 3rd movies after cameoing in the first two as in the orginal films), khan and the augments on ice etc (maybe that's what audiences were wanting/expecting?)
-Good reviews for STB? - when it was revealed as being a good 'star trek' movie and an improvement over STID maybe some of the general audience were abit turned off by it being too 'star trek' too nerdy/big bang theory (like 'oh in that case its not for me' unlike the previous 2 which were considered less 'trekkie' more mainstream)
-Little promotion of the 50th ann (like there was for the 25th with VI). In fact didnt seem that much promotion until the fan event. Maybe a teaser celebrating the 50th (like VI did for the 25th) would've been a positive thing and a better way to go than the Beastie Boys one. (On the opposite side maybe the 50th anniversary actually turned off some of the general audience. Like the saw/heard remembered all the previous Trek TOS etc in the media and were like 'eww star trek. That's really for nerds.' Where as with the previous 2 maybe there was less emphasis on recalling past Trek and were more cool space action movies snot so connected to trek?)
-no familiar Trek villain? (Klingons/Borg) - part of the fun of remakes/reboots is to see new versions of original iconic villains/the foreshadowing to them before the revelation etc like a "greatest hits done bigger' thing (perhaps one of the reasons STID did the highest box office for Trek? - maybe it'd have done even more had khan being revealed in trailers etc?)
-That early Beastie Boys trailer with the bike, proudly proclaiming its the F&F guy directing.. as if to say 'hey we got the FF guy doing this one! Cos that what we know you want! look how cool the F&F style action is! Its the F&F in Space everyone!'(think that was quite damaging esp in front of the huge TFA). Ironically the music does make sense when you see the movie!
-The John Carter effect? – perhaps Trek and esp STB is suffering abit of John Carter syndrome? - its 'the original' SF saga of this decade pretty much but since STID theres been Guardians and Star Wars:TFA (two huge SF events - esp the return of the original SW) which have maybe taken the sheen off 'the original' SF saga of the decade (in that Trek was 2009). can imagine some kids/people seeing trailers for STB and just thinking its a knock off/imitation of Wars/GOTG(esp since STB was made to be more 'Guardiansy', and of course the idea behind bringing Trek back in 2009 was to 'Star Warsize' it. funnily enough whats happening to Wars now is the same as Trek in 09 - bringing back the original characters/trading on nostalgia after a long stretch of less popular spin off stuff and becoming more popular than ever. its just Trek didnt capitalize on it). funnily enough the Rhianna score in trailer #3 sounded similar to the song used in the John Carter trailer
-end of summer July release over start of summer May
-audience burned out by earlier summer movie sequels that weren't that great (ID:R, XM:A, GB, TMNT2 etc) making STB (being yet another sequel/reboot) less of an attractive prospect for film goers
-the international floating head poster while attempting to homage previous Trek film posters was quite underwhelming. As was the domestic big blocky BEYOND with no 'star trek' (which was strange in that the enterprise is in pieces falling from the sky in the film. Maybe it was a response to the STID 'Enterprise down' poster in that heres the ENT now soaring in a sunny sky for the 50th! but it made little sense for STB.) maybe the retro TMP style one should've been the main one to use everywhere or better still the two fantastic Korean ones.
-no Shatner (the general media loves shatner so no having him there somehow in at least a decent cameo was a mistake) The fact that Shatner would be returning to the movie series after 22 years for the 50th anniversary. Almost a Harrison Ford/TFA type thing (imagine the 'Spock..we're home' type thing at the end of the trailer!) (Generations was only a couple of years after VI so wasn't that much of a big deal for shatner to be in another ST movie even if it was the 1st TNG film).
--no solid 'hook' for Trek fans in the build up to the movie beyond its a new trek movie and the ship gets destroyed (again. Wed already almost seen that at end of STID - a sequence that was very reminiscent of the opening STB Enterprise destruction/chaos) and a vengeful villain (again)..(and maybe the NX style ship was something of a hook for fans?) aside from that it looked abit Insurrection/Avatary (directed by F&F dude with F&F style action and bike stunts). whereas the previous 2 had great trailers and 'hooks' - STID had the mystery/question of Khan/Klingons and whos going to die (although maybe if it'd been revealed it was khan in the build up it'd have been an even bigger draw) plus the TNG looking Vengeance was pretty intriguing.. ST09 had all kinds of hooks - return of TOS era/characters, huge budget biggest since TMP, new take from new creative team/jj, prequel/sequel/reboot, time travel/alt universe, Nimoy returning as Spock for the first time since 1991, Shatner cameo?!. (Turns out of course there were a few 'hooks' beyond the enterprise destroyed..not that we could know about them - Spock primes death, the Enterprise A (ok it was obvious theyd get another Ent but still cool. Although it shouldve looked more like the original movie Ent). Also the NX 'Enterprise' style ship and Krall being an 'Enterprise' era captain with references to MACO/Xindi etc (seen in trailers but no one really knew about it until saw the film). And the photo of the original crew from Trek V was a mindblowing surprise )
-while the movie turned out surprisingly good there didnt seem to be anything 'anniversary' (like VI) or that eventful about it (beyond the Enterprise destroyed which wed see already twice, and almost at the end of STID) - perhaps Orcis more Shatcentric Days of Future Past/City on The Edge/Yesterdays Ent/All Good Things sounding Kelvin/Prime crossover movie wouldve created more of an event and wouldve been the way to go for the 50th ? probably would've brought in more money/been a bigger success. i.e. less budget 150m, more hooks for the audience/more of an event for the 50th – shatner/timetravel/prime timeline stuff, possible May release, no Fast&Furious in Space early trailer! Instead could've had something involving a returning Shatner TFA style! Almost an MCU style team up or Generations done right. Look at the much celebrated Dr Who 50th special (2 Doctors team up, John Hurt as a never seen before Doctor, Tom Baker, previous Doctors and Capaldi cameo, even revealing what happened to the McGann Doctor) Beyond could've done something similar to all that or alternatively something like this: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2660888/board/nest/264709190?d=264709190#264709190
-Also compared to ST09/ID its a relatively all new adventure with the nucrew (like FC was for TNG at the movies), the first time its really been about them and the nu timeline with little connection to Trek 'Prime' - for the 50th Ann movie (when it perhaps should be calling back to Treks history the most). where ST09 had Nimoy and the plot revolved around the changing the timeline/alternate universe etc. STID had khan and all the call backs to TWOK (& even Nimoy again) and it was all about the inevitability of the prime timeline coming to pass in the new one but with certain changes.(if there is to ST4 maybe they will go back to heavily referencing Trek Prime - i.e. adapting Orcis 3)