Star Trek Budget Size

According to Moviehole, the budget of Star Trek XI has grown from a franchise high of $130 million to an even higher $150-160 million. The previous record was held by Star Trek: Insurrection with its $70 million budget.

It could be easily argued that probably the single biggest reason for the recent movie failures of the Star Trek franchise (other then lack of imagination) was the lack of budget to fully realize the existing visions of the film. The unspectacular death of Kirk (betting budget reasons), the eh ending to Insurrection, the crappy space fight in Nemesis (not the ramming, just the idea of the Enterprise holding its own against that large a ship, it should have been an armada vs Nemesis and Enterprise ramming it as a desperate gambit at the end of a losing fight with the carcasses of the armada floating in space).

I digress, but the point is that past films suffered tremendously do to lack of budgets (and story). Abrams will no longer have that excuse if this movie tanks. Considering the most successful box office movie was Star Trek: First Contact which took in $150 million worldwide, XI has an uphill battle. Its helped that back then that a lion's share of the box office came from US alone and now its 50-50 to 90-10 overseas depending on the movie. If this film doesn't make at least $300 million box office before its said and done, then its a good chance it could take the franchise with it for the foreseeable future.