Thanks to a healthy box office globally Tuesday, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now among the 20 highest grossing films worldwide of all time. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, The Last Jedi – the eighth installment in the Skywalker family saga and ninth Star Wars film overall – was a blockbuster hit out of the gate when it was released in theaters December 15, taking in more than $220 million in its three-day opening frame.
After a successful turn at the box office stateside and abroad Christmas weekend, The Last Jedi topped the $1 billion mark globally by New Year's Eve, with more than $517 million of that coming domestically to make it the top film in North America in 2017. And while it became immediately clear that The Last Jedi would fall short of reaching the $2 billion mark its predecessor The Force Awakens made worldwide in 2015, there's no question that the latest entry in the Star Wars canon will still be a massive hit by the time it ends its theatrical run.
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Evidence of just how big The Last Jedi is came Wednesday, when Deadline reported the film cracked the top 20 in all-time global ticket sales and staked out 19th place on the list. Having grossed 1,090.8 billion at ticket counters worldwide through Tuesday, the film pushed director Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises down to No. 20 on the list, which earned $1,084.9 billion during its theatrical run in 2012. Dropping from the top 20 is Toy Story 3, which now sits at No. 21 on the list with $1,067 billion.
Before any adjustments for inflation, the only other Star Wars film to crack the top 20 of highest grossing films worldwide is 2015's The Force Awakens, which earned $2,068.2 billion by the time the film wrapped up its theatrical run in 2016. The final tally is third on the all-time list behind two films by writer/director James Cameron: Titanic, at No. 2 with $2,187.5 billion in total global ticket sales, and Avatar at No. 1 with a final global box office tally of $2,788 billion.
It's hard to say at this point how much higher The Last Jedi will scale on the all-time global box office list, but since the film is less than three weeks into its theatrical run, a run for a top 10 slot on the list is entirely conceivable. The Last Jedi is certainly making great strides domestically, having passed The Dark Knight's $534.8 million mark at the box office over the weekend for the No. 6 spot on the list.
Having earned $539.3 million to date stateside, The Last Jedi now has its sights set on the No. 5 slot - currently held by Marvel's The Avengers, which accumulated $623.3 million during its theatrical run in 2012. The Force Awakens is No. 1 on the all-time list (before grosses adjusted for inflation), after earning an astounding $936.6 million stateside during its theatrical run.
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Source: Deadline
