Star Trek Beyond Projected for Lower Opening Weekend Than Into Darkness

The rebooted Star Trek movie franchise started off well enough with J.J. Abrams' 2009 film but then Abrams and the franchise stumbled with the sequel effort, Star Trek Into Darkness. Now the man who turned around the Fast & Furious franchise, Justin Lin, has taken over directing an all-star cast in Star Trek Beyond. And, as of early reviews, it's looking like the crew of the Enterprise has a fun summer movie experience in store for fans.

But how much of a bad impression did Star Trek Into Darkness cast over the franchise? Early projections for Star Trek Beyond's opening weekend box office suggest it could have the lowest debut yet for the rebooted franchise.

The Wrap's sources put Star Trek Beyond opening at around $60 million; for comparison, Star Trek (2009) opened at $75 million, while Into Darkness opened at $70 million. Of course, these are just projections and don't at all spell doom and gloom for Star Trek fans or those just hoping to see a fun summer movie:

Rotten Tomatoes has Star Trek Beyond currently sitting at a 93% fresh rating, while even Metacritic has it at a favorable 71%. The general (critical) consensus is that - like Lin's work on Fast & Furious - there's enough wit, action and momentum for the film to entertain its way past its flaws. There are, of course, varying debates on how loyal Lin's vision is to the designs of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry - but we'll leave that for the comment sections. If Star Trek Beyond is what critics say it is, then it could conceivably be carried on strong word of mouth and go the distance with a steady stream of box office earnings... at least for those two weeks until Suicide Squad arrives.

Just a reminder: all this talk is of domestic earnings; the Star Trek movies have actually seen sharp gains in overseas earnings with each installment - despite the seeming decline in domestic returns. Star Trek Beyond could do just fine for itself internationally, and if history is any kind of example, Lin will be back to direct an even bigger sequel. We'll soon see.

Star Trek Beyond hits theaters this weekend.