‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Scores Second-Best Opening Ever
Star Wars: The Last Jedi fell short of The Force Awakens‘ record-setting box office but still set the mark for second-best opening weekend of all time by taking in over $220 million since its December 14th release.
Episode VIII in the Star Wars saga will become the fourth film in (non-adjusted for inflation) box office history – after The Avengers, Jurassic World and The Force Awakens – to open with over $200 million, the Hollywood Reporter writes. Additionally, The Last Jedi made over $100 million in its first 24 hours of release, becoming only the second film to hit that plateau after The Force Awakens.
The Force Awakens, the all-time box office king after overtaking Avatar, opened with $248 million domestic and $529 million worldwide in December 2015; The Last Jedi is on pace to bring in $450 million globally this weekend, Reuters reports. The Fate of the Furious, which made $541 million internationally upon release, shattered the Force Awakens‘ worldwide opening week record earlier this year.
By comparison, Ferdinand, this week’s Number Two film, opened with $13 million.
The Last Jedi is also well on its way toward entering the Top 10 for highest-grossing films at the domestic box office ever, joining two Star Wars films on the list, according to Box Office Mojo: The Force Awakens (Number One) and Rogue One (Number Seven) are currently on the list, while The Phantom Menace, at Number 10, would be pushed out of the Top 10 to make room for The Last Jedi. 1977’s franchise-starting Star Wars currently sits at Number 11.
The Star Wars franchise has two more films planned – 2018’s anthology film Solo and 2019’s Episode IX – as well as a new trilogy from Last Jedi director Rian Johnson.