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David Mumpower: I'm not as convinced Matt Damon would have been a bad choice since I think he's a good enough actor to pull off almost any role. Having said that, I think that the cast had almost no impact on the box office. Star Trek the multi-billion dollar brand matters much more to the bottom line here. The cast does matter inasmuch as they performed at such a high level as to earn glorious reviews and instantaneously glowing word-of-mouth. In terms of adding to the opening weekend box office, let's be honest here. What's a Chris Pine? And Zachary Quinto's television show ratings are close enough that its renewal was in doubt. These guys made a great movie, but the closest things to box office draws here are Simon Pegg and Tyler Perry, neither of whom was the primary reason anybody went to see this.

Pete Kilmer: The importance of the cast was extremely minimal, with one exception. Nimoy. That was a bit of casting that was guranteed to bring the fanbase out (not that they wouldn't have, anyway.)

Tim Briody: The roles could've been played by anybody, recognizable or not, and it would not have affected box office. Fortunately, I thought Chris Pine hit it out of the park and Simon Pegg is just inspired casting.

Max Braden: I think if you graphed a curve of more recognizable actors against box it would probably be flat, or even favor the lesser known actors. Had this been a Tom Cruise vehicle? I think the silliness of the idea would turn off as many potential viewers as he might have pulled in.

Sean Collier: Max is right. Using a collection of talented relative-unknowns makes it seem like Abrams and crew were more concerned with quality than star power, and I think that resonated well with moviegoers.

Jamie Ruccio: I think the only effect the cast had on this movie's boxoffice, aside from the performances given, was that it signaled to the audience that the film wasn't going to be a star vehicle. That then sent the message that there were going to be other things for the audience to key in on, like story, overall feel, etc.

Going forward it will be interesting to see what the word-of-mouth (generally highly positive) regarding the performances does to the legs of the film. I think the universal praise the acting has received will do nothing but boost the box office of the film in the next few weeks.

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