20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
17. They Took Star Trek Out Of Title To Help Promote The Film Overseas
As part of the marketing for the film, promotional material, including tv spots, trailers, and posters, were redesigned to make the connection to Star Trek as a franchise less obvious. The producers wanted to avoid the clash that had caused a financial hit on Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.
Outside of North America, Star Trek III had clashed with Ghostbusters, pulling in barely $10million dollars. With this film being another sequel, the title was switched around. Rather than being called Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, it was instead referred to as The Voyage Home: Star Trek IV.
It was a gamble that paid off. Until the release of Star Trek 2009, it was the highest-grossing Trek film in the franchise. While The Motion Picture had done well in terms of box office receipts, the spiraling cost of the budget had negated many of the gains. Star Trek IV had managed to keep the budget on target, therefore it was deemed a far greater success in the long run. In fact, it was due to the film's success that Star Trek: Phase II gained new traction.