NOTE: Box office figures as of January 9, 2018
Now that Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been in theaters for about a month, the record will show that the film is a box office success. Lucasfilm's latest blockbuster, of course, is the sequel to 2015's The Force Awakens, which rewrote the record books en route to a whopping $936.6 million domestic haul and more than $2 billion worldwide. Because Episode VII was such a well-received hit, it was widely expected Last Jedi would be one of the biggest films of the year - even if it couldn't match the output of its predecessor. After all, The Force Awakens was a once-in-a-lifetime cinematic event that arrived a decade after Revenge of the Sith and more than 30 years following the original trilogy. No film, even another Star Wars, could top it.
While it was generally accepted The Last Jedi wouldn't rival The Force Awakens' gaudy numbers, there was some outside chatter about its box office performance after it took a 69 percent hit in it second weekend. That, combined with Episode VIII being the most divisive entry in the franchise, seemed to spell trouble for Lucasfilm in these early day of the Star Wars renaissance. However, those concerns are hardly warranted, and the figure illustrate that The Last Jedi is one of the most successful films of all-time.
The Domestic Champion
It's no secret we're currently living in the Golden Age of superhero movies, but Star Wars remains ruler of the multiplex. That The Force Awakens shattered the all-time domestic record is no surprise, but it was interesting to see spinoff Rogue One soar to the top of the U.S. charts in 2016. Even with the presence of major sequels like Finding Dory and Captain America: Civil War, a standalone Star Wars film featuring a fresh cast of characters took the crown. So when Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren, and Luke Skywalker returned for the next installment of the sequel trilogy, The Last Jedi was poised to dominate the holiday season.
Related: Last Jedi Cracks 20 Highest-Grossing Films of All-Time
Most projections had the movie pegged for about $200 million in its first three days, but it far surpassed that with $220 million - the second biggest debut in history. To put that number in perspective, Justice League has earned $227.1 million for its entire Stateside run and Logan made $226.2 million. Though The Last Jedi eventually lost the top spot on the weekend charts to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, it quickly ascended the charts, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2017 in the blink of an eye. Before the calendar flipped to 2018, Star Wars 8 had already unseated fellow Disney blockbuster Beauty and the Beast and crossed the $500 million mark. As of this writing, The Last Jedi has earned $576.8 million domestically and has an outside chance of passing The Avengers for fifth place before its run is done.
Some may recall The Last Jedi was originally scheduled to debut in May 2017 before Lucasfilm pushed it back seven months. Besides avoiding a showdown with Wonder Woman (oh, how things never change), that shift allowed them to replicate The Force Awakens formula - complete with a similar marketing strategy. Kathleen Kennedy and company found a gold mine in December, reaping the benefits of being one of the few tentpoles in town. It's for this reason it was odd they always stuck with a summer date for Solo: A Star Wars Story, but Episode IX will bow in December 2019. With James Cameron's Avatar sequels staking claim to Decembers over the next handful of years, it will be interesting to see where Lucasfilm slots Rian Johnson's trilogy.
The Last Jedi is nearing $600 million domestically, and that figure alone would ensure it makes a nice profit for Lucasfilm. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Like several other tentpoles before it, Episode VIII played around the world, taking advantage of an increasingly important international box office. When the global numbers are taken into account, there's no denying The Last Jedi is a monumental success.
Another $1 Billion Hit
With 32 members, the $1 billion club isn't as exclusive as it once was, and several modern tentpoles are expected to top that figure to avoid being labeled a disappointment. Luckily for Lucasfilm, all three entries of the revived Star Wars series are among those 32 films, with The Last Jedi recently passing Iron Man 3 for twelfth on the all-time charts. It's thought the latest episode in the Skywalker saga will reach $1.6 billion when it's all said and done, possibly dethroning Jurassic World for fourth on that list. As of this writing, Star Wars 8 has brought in $1.2 billion.
Related: Last Jedi Struggles In China
The Last Jedi would have been an even bigger smash if Star Wars had any kind of cultural relevance in China. The Middle Kingdom ranks as the world's second-biggest film market, but Lucasfilm has struggled mightily in the country. This can be attributed to the property first gaining mainstream popularity in the 1970s, well before China was of any value to studio executives. During Episode VIII's opening weekend in China, it had to settle for second place (losing to a local rom-com sequel) and trailing The Force Awakens and Rogue One's midnight numbers. The studio has tried to appeal to the Chinese audience over the past few years, but it's apparent their strategies are not working. They either need to retool what they're doing or accept China will always be a loss (relatively speaking).
Still, it's hard to argue with these results. The $1.2 billion translates to an $800 million profit, which is enough to bankroll four Last Jedis (reported production budget: $200 million). This is why Lucasfilm can afford to intentionally inflate the budget for Solo so Ron Howard can reshoot more than originally intended. Their tentpoles have more than lived up to the billing with box office performances that some studios can only dream of. The three films they've put out in the Disney era have recouped the $4 billion Bob Iger spent to acquire Lucasfilm, and there are still several movies remaining on the release schedule. From a pure business perspective, this has gone about as well as anyone could have hoped.
It's worth pointing out that this $1.2 billion is just from the ticket sales, and doesn't account for all of the merchandise sales that no doubt brought in a substantial amount of revenue on their own. Lucasfilm also has the Last Jedi Blu-ray release forthcoming, which will only continue to add to the bottom line. Whichever way one looks at it, Episode VIII has to please the higher-ups at the studio.
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A narrative may have emerged about how The Last Jedi was a failure, but the numbers don't lie. Like all of the Star Wars films before it, The Last Jedi was a great box office success, illustrating the series is as strong as it's ever been commercially. Time will tell how the brand does when it bids farewell to the Skywalker saga, but for now, there's no topping it.
MORE: All the Last Jedi Footage That's Been Officially Released
