'Rogue One' to Open Big, Tickets on Sale Soon

When the next Star Wars movie opens next month, it's going to rulle the box office. But will Rogue One: A Star Wars Story be a blockbuster by Star Wars standards? Advance tracking suggests that the movie will open big, but it's not likely to break any records.

Predictions for Rogue One have it taking in somewhere between $100 and $140 million over its opening weekend. An opening at the high end of that range would give Rogue One one of the best opening weekends of 2016. So far, the year's best opening belongs to Captain America: Civil War with $179 million.

But Rogue One will fall far short of the $247 million that Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens earned in its opening weekend last year. It would, however, be the second-best opening among all Star Wars movies.

Advance ticket sales for Rogue One began this week in the UK, but Disney has not yet announced when tickets will go on sale in the United States. Some sources suggest that the announcement could come over Thanksgiving weekend or during the following week.

Rogue One, which is a prequel to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, opens in the United States on December 16.