Box office
Star Trek Beyond underperformed financially at the box office. Scott Mendelson of Forbes observed that one factor contributing to the film's underperformance was its untimely release in a crowded summer in which it was surrounded by other films like Ghostbusters, Jason Bourne and Suicide Squad. He also noted that had Paramount released the film for the Star Trek's 50th anniversary on September 8, the film could have benefited from that occasion, as demonstrated in October 2012 when MGM released the James Bond film Skyfall (which went on to gross over $1 billion) for that series' 50th anniversary.
Star Trek Beyond grossed $158.8 million in the United States and Canada and $184.6 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $343.5 million, against a production budget of $185 million. It had a global opening of $89.2 million and an IMAX opening of $11.6 million on 571 IMAX screens. Industry analyst Danny Cox had previously estimated that in order for the film to break even, it would have to earn $340–350 million worldwide, and ended losing an estimated $50.5 million.
In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $50–60 million from 3,928 theaters in its opening weekend. It opened alongside Ice Age: Collision Course and Lights Out, but critics noted that the film did not face any direct competition with them. It opened across 3,928 theaters, of which 391 were IMAX. It made $5.5 million from Thursday previews from 3,100 theaters, an improvement over its two immediate predecessors. Of that, the film grossed $1.1 million on 387 IMAX screens. This includes revenues generated from Wednesday night, when Paramount screened all Star Trek films, which concluded with a 10pm screening of Beyond. On its opening day, it earned $22.3 million, which is the second-biggest among the franchise, only behind Star Trek ($30.9 million), the third-biggest opening day of the summer for a live-action film and the second-biggest opening day of the year for a non-comic book superhero live-action film, behind only The Jungle Book. It earned $59.3 million in its opening weekend, which is the third-biggest debut among the franchise but the lowest of the reboot series (behind Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness for both). Adjusted for inflation, it ranks fourth behind the aforementioned films and Star Trek: First Contact ($60 million). It performed exceptionally well in IMAX making $8.7 million in 387 IMAX screens. The film came in 14% lower than the opening of its immediate predecessor, Star Trek Into Darkness, but box office experts noted that the fall was mild in comparison to other sequels of 2016 and is still considered a hit. It dropped precipitously by 69% on its second Friday and was overtaken by newcomer spy film Jason Bourne, earning $6.75 million. By comparison, Star Trek dropped 56% on its first Friday while Star Trek into Darkness fell 53%. However, this was not the worst Friday-to-Friday drop for a Star Trek film, as Star Trek: Nemesis plunged 83% on its second Friday due to negative word-of-mouth and heavy competition from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
By the second and third weekend following the film's release, box office revenue continued to drop significantly due to the release of competing films like Jason Bourne and Suicide Squad.
Internationally, the film received a scattered release pattern and was released across approximately 76 markets. It opened in 37 markets in conjunction with its North American release in its first weekend, including in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia — territories where the franchise has traditionally performed well. It earned a total of $30 million from the said number of markets, which is slightly lower than Star Trek Into Darkness' $31.7 million international debut in 2013. Paramount said that the heatwave in Europe negatively impacted the weekend's results. Beyond debuted at first place in 16 of them and recorded the biggest opening weekend ever for the franchise in 17 markets, including Russia, Taiwan and Thailand. It debuted in third place overall at the international box office, behind Skiptrace and The Legend of Tarzan. Beyond set numerous records in IMAX theaters. Led by very strong results in the UK and Russia, it grossed an estimated weekend of $3.2 million on 184 screens, besting Star Trek Into Darkness' $2.8 million debut. In its second weekend, it fell drastically by 57% earning $13 million. As a result, it slipped into sixth place at the box office. After fluctuating up and down the charts, it finally topped the international box office in its seventh weekend due to a robust debut in China and remained at the top for the second weekend in a row.
The highest international tallies were recorded in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($6.1 million), South Korea ($5.6 million), Germany ($4.5 million), Russia and the CIS ($3.3 million), Australia ($3 million), France ($2.1 million), Mexico ($1.5 million), Brazil ($1.6 million), Venezuela ($1.4 million) and Taiwan ($1 million). In the United Kingdom, where the performance of the franchise has been consistently solid, it was edged out by the family film The BFG. Its £4.74 million ($6.2 million) opening from 535 theaters is the lowest among the rebooted series and a 31% decline from the £8.43 million ($11 million) opening posted by Star Trek Into Darkness, if previews are deducted. The Guardian cited J. J. Abrams's departure as the director and fans' unenthusiastic response to Idris Elba as the villain (in comparison to Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Trek Into Darkness) as some possible reasons why the film failed to generate lucrative revenue. The site also projected a total gross of around £20 million ($26 million+) for the film.
It opened in China on September 2 and earned an estimated $9.30 million on its opening day (representing 66% of the total marketplace), including $370,000 in midnight preview showings (160% larger than the opening day of Star Trek Into Darkness), and $21.8 million in two days. In total, it had an opening weekend of $31.3 million according to Paramount and $30.7 million according to Chinese box office service Ent Group from 6,259 screens, marking the biggest Star Trek debut in the country, 105% bigger than the opening of Star Trek Into Darkness. It was the only one of five new releases to make any impression on the chart. It remained at the top of the box office for a second weekend by adding another $10.1 million (according to Chinese data provider Ent Group), or $11.37 million (according to Paramount) from 5,830 locations from Friday to Sunday, a steep decline of 62.6% from its previous weekend. It fell out of the top 10 in its third weekend, and has grossed a total of $64.2 million there. It is projected the film will end its run there anywhere around $70–100 million, a disappointing figure considering the robust marketing effort by investors Alibaba Pictures and Huahua Media. Thus, the film is the second Paramount film to underperform in that corner following Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows in July.
In terms of total earnings, its biggest offshore markets are the United Kingdom ($13.3 million), Germany ($8.6 million), Russia and the CIS ($5.5 million) and Australia ($5.2 million). Star Trek Beyond opened in Japan on October 21, where it has earned $4.9 million as of 17 November 2016.