Is 'The Last Jedi' a Disappointment?
by EG
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi saw a bigger than usual drop in ticket sales between its first weekend and its second. Given the mixed reaction of fans to the film, it might seem like the sequel isn't living up to the stellar standards of the franchise. Don't be quick to pronounce the film a failure, though.
Don't bet on Star Wars fatigue just yet.
If box-office pundits are right, Disney's and Lucasfilms' Star Wars: The Last Jedi will ultimately boast one of the top worldwide grosses of all time with as much as $1.6 billion in global ticket sales after earning well north of $745.5 million through Christmas Day.
Its lifetime run is expected to include $750 million to $800 million in North American ticket sales. That means it could be the second-biggest domestic title of all time behind its predecessor, Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936.7 million). Currently, Avatar ($760.5 million) and Titanic ($659.4) rank No. 2 and No. 3, not accounting for inflation.
Over the four-day Christmas weekend, The Last Jedi placed No. 1 with $100.7 million in North America, a 54 percent decline from its opening weekend haul of $220 million, the second-best launch on record after Force Awakens ($248 million) in December 2016.
For the three-day weekend, Jedi earned an estimated $68.4 million, a 69 percent decline, prompting some to question whether the film is losing momentum. That compares with a mere 40 percent drop for Force Awakens, which grossed $149.2 million in its second outing over the Dec. 25-27 weekend in 2015. (Force Awakens had the advantage of Christmas Eve falling on a Thursday night.)
And last year, stand-alone film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story fell 59 percent in its second outing, earning $64 million over the Dec. 23-25 weekend. Rogue One had less to fall from after debuting to $155.1 million.
"The Force Awakens was an outlier, the likes of which we may never see again, and to compare any movie, even a Star Wars film, to that performance is unfair given the buildup to that film's monumental release. At a gross of nearly $750 million worldwide and a near even split between the North American and international gross after a little over a week in theaters, The Last Jedi is by any measure a great success, and the passionate debate over pros and cons of the film itself serve only to show the continued passion that fans have for this historic film series," says comScore analyst Paul Dergaragedian.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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