Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi is projected to earn at least $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office, thus making it one of the highest-grossing movies of all-time. The highly-anticipated sequel to J.J. Abrams' 2015 film, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, continues to expand Lucasfilm's Star Wars sequel trilogy while also laying the foundation for Abrams to return to the fold with his 2019 installment, Star Wars: Episode IX.

The Last Jedi earned rave reviews upon release and has been compared to Irvin Kershner's Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, but not all audiences seem to be on board with critics, and that has led to massive drops at the domestic box office. While The Last Jedi has featured some of the sharpest box office drop-offs in cinema history, the film is still earning hefty sums daily. Episode VIII crossed both $400 million domestically and $800 million globally over the Christmas weekend, and it's expected to break the coveted billion-dollar mark this week. But it still has plenty of room to prosper.

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THR reports that Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now expected to earn as much as $1.6 billion globally before it concludes its theatrical run, thanks to steady turnout for the film over the holiday weekend, despite competition from films such as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Pitch Perfect 3.

If The Last Jedi does draw in $1.6 billion, that number will place the film in the Top 5 highest-grossing films of all-time at the worldwide box office. James Cameron's Avatar ($2.788 billion) and Titanic ($2.187 billion) are in first and second place, respectively (including grosses from theatrical re-releases), with Abrams' The Force Awakens coming in third with $2.068 billion. It's worth noting that The Force Awakens was removed from theaters after 168 days, whereas Avatar was in theaters for 238 days and Titanic for at least 300 days.

Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World is in fourth place with $1.671 billion globally, and Joss Whedon's The Avengers currently sits in fifth place with $1.518 billion. Box office analysts anticipate The Last Jedi pushing Avengers down to sixth place, but depending on how well it continues to perform, it may very well pass Jurassic World as well. However, it's not expected to cross The Force Awakens' 2015 haul.

The Last Jedi may also conclude its theatrical run between $750 and $800 million at the domestic box office, thus putting it either second or third place. The Force Awakens currently holds the record for highest-grossing movie of all-time, domestically, with a whopping $936.6 million. Avatar remains in second place with $760.5 million (unadjusted for ticket price inflation). Based on projections, Johnson's The Last Jedi could end up in second place domestically and third place globally, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

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Source: THR

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