Better Bet: Star Trek or Star Wars?

Turns out it wasn't even a contest. As far as the box office is concerned, Captain Kirk is nowhere near as popular Iron Man. Viacom's latest entry in the Star Trek franchise earned $70.56 million in its domestic debut weekend, less than half the $174 million U.S. debut for Iron Man 3.

Is this really a knock? Comic book franchises rule both the movies and TV right now. For Walt Disney's Marvel Studios, Iron Man 3 marks its second-consecutive billion-dollar film. Star Trek Into Darkness was always going to play to a niche sci-fi audience, says Tim Beyers of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova in the following video.

But for Viacom, this is a niche worth exploiting. Star Trek Into Darkness is tracking just $3 million behind its predecessor in terms of U.S. receipts. Meanwhile, overseas, Darkness is tracking $25 million ahead of Star Trek, according to Box Office Mojo. Still, Tim says if he had to choose between Star Trek and Star Wars -- i.e., Viacom or Disney -- in the years ahead, he'd opt for the vast Star Wars universe, which he believes will be responsible for the next $2 billion blockbuster when a new film in the series is released in 2015.

Do you agree? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take, and then let us know whether you're a trekkie or a Star Wars fan, and why.

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The article Better Bet: Star Trek or Star Wars? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Walt Disney at the time of publication. Check out Tim's Web home and portfolio holdings, or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Walt Disney. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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