'Star Trek' Becomes Highest Grossing Franchise Film

It's just days away from losing its box office crown to the Disney/Pixar movie "Up," but "Star Trek" can finally celebrate one last milestone it has been fighting to reach: It undeniably is now the highest grossing film in the Trek franchise, even when adjusted for inflation.

"Star Trek" picked up another $570,000 Monday, according to Showbiz Data, bringing its total domestic haul to $240.8 million. That's just $100,000 behind "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," which earned $82.3 million in 1979, which equates to about $240.9 million today. Although official numbers are not out yet for Tuesday, "Star Trek" easily made more than $100,000 to pass "The Motion Picture" and earn its franchise crown.

The movie from J.J. Abrams likely will end its run with just under $250 million domestically, totally blowing away the previous film in the franchise, "Star Trek: Nemesis" which earned just $43.1 million in 2002.

Based on a previous study by Airlock Alpha, that now shifts the inflation-adjusted list of films.

Top-Grossing Star Trek films
1. Star Trek (2009) -- $241.3 million (est)
2. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) -- $240.9 million
3. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1987) -- $212.7 million
4. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) -- $173.8 million
5. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) -- $156.5 million
6. Star Trek: First Contact (1996) -- $125 million
7. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) -- $117 million
8. Star Trek Generations (1994) -- $108.6 million
9. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) -- $92.3 million
10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) -- $89.5 million
11. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) -- $51.3 million
Outside of "Star Trek: First Contact," Trek films took a definite slide beginning with "Final Frontier" despite the fact that its predecessor, "The Voyage Home" at the time was the biggest raw box office grosser in franchise history.
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