34 Years Ago, Star Trek Proved the Most Popular Fan Theory Was Actually Right

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Fans have developed some unusual theories about Star Trek over the years, some even resembling superstitions. A long-standing one revolves around a supposed pattern predicting the quality of Star Trek movies. Thirty-four years ago, a particular film was released that led many fans to believe this pattern was real, and that they could reliably tell which Star Trek movies would be successful and which wouldn’t.

Star Trek’s Even vs. Odd Movie Theory

A popular idea among Star Trek fans is that the even-numbered films are always the best. This notion started with the original movie trilogy: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. The Wrath of Khan was a significant improvement over the first film, while The Search for Spock was a rather unusual sequel. This led to a playful superstition that Star Trek movies only succeed when they’re the even-numbered installments, and subsequent films haven’t really disproven it.

After really enjoying The Search for Spock, I was totally blown away by Star Trek: The Voyage Home in 1986. It was such a wild concept for a Star Trek story – time travel to save the whales! It became one of the most beloved Star Trek films, even earning four Oscar nominations, and it did really well at the box office, making over $133 million on a $20+ million budget. Unfortunately, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier quickly undid all that good work. It went from having the biggest opening weekend of any Star Trek movie to being a critical and commercial failure, only earning $63 million. I even heard rumors that Final Frontier did so poorly it almost killed the whole franchise!

Star Trek VI Was A Comeback Hit (And Proved the Theory Right)

As a huge Star Trek fan, I remember being so excited for The Undiscovered Country when it came out in December 1991! It actually had a bigger opening weekend than The Final Frontier, which was awesome, and thankfully, both critics and audiences seemed to really enjoy it – it made almost $97 million! But for me, and a lot of other fans, it was more than just a successful movie. It really breathed new life into the Star Trek films and, sadly, marked the last time we saw the original crew together on the big screen. Looking back, it’s pretty clear there was a pattern with these movies – the odd-numbered ones weren’t so great, but the even-numbered ones always seemed to get things back on track. It just felt…right.

As a longtime Trek fan, I remember when Star Trek: The Next Generation finally made its way to the big screen with Generations in 1991. It felt like a passing of the torch, though the film itself was a bit of a mixed bag. While seeing Kirk and Picard together was a huge moment, subsequent films were all over the place. First Contact in 1996 was a standout, a truly great sci-fi story that even earned an Oscar nod. Then we had Insurrection in 1998, directed by Jonathan Frakes, which honestly felt like a really long episode of the show. Nemesis (2002) is still debated amongst fans – some consider it a worthy addition to the even-numbered Trek films, while others think it completely throws off the pattern. And honestly, looking at the J.J. Abrams films that started in 2009, it’s hard to say if that even/odd quality rule even holds up anymore.

You can stream all of the Star Trek movies on Paramount+, and test the pattern out for yourself.

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2025-12-09 02:11