Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may not be doing the record-breaking level of business that The Force Awakens did last year, but it's still lighting up the December box office in a big way, having recently hit $400 million worldwide after just a single week. This is a big deal for Disney, who can now safely feel emboldened to explore more of the nooks and crannies of the Star Wars universe without worrying whether there will be an appetite for such Extended Universe-styled content.
Of course, timing is everything in Hollywood. Disney has positioned its Star Wars films to benefit from a relatively uncrowded December lineup and an accessible screen time for families enjoying their winter breaks. Initial projections for the film's Holiday week (December 21-26 ) were a whopping $160 million, but Disney has now released its own, decidedly more conservative estimate.
According to Variety, Disney expects the six-day run to bring them to at least $120 million, which would bring them to $350 million domestically by its 11th day in the box office. Considering the film's opening week scored $221.9 million domestically, this estimate still assumes an extremely low 36% drop-off for the film in its second week. Regardless of where Rogue One falls between these predictions, one thing is clear: it's expected to have legs.
This would make sense, considering not only the holiday boon but also that its most recent challengers (Assassin's Creed and Passengers) have been overwhelmingly panned by critics. Rogue One, on the other hand, has had a far more positive reception, dividing fans and critics more over how good it is, rather than whether or not it's worth seeing. Its stiffest competition is expected to come in the form of Sing, a new animated film from Illumination and Universal, which is estimated to earn around $71 million over the six day period. It's also worth noting that the indie darling (and Oscar buzzed) La La Land finally receives its wide release on Christmas day, though how much of a dent it will make nationally is still uncertain.
Disney currently has a Star Wars film planned to drop each year for at least another three years. Where they go from 2020 and beyond is still unannounced, but if performance continues along these lines, fans can likely expect a whole lot of their favorite galaxy far, far away from here on out.
Are you planning on seeing Rogue One (again) for the holiday weekend? Let us know in the comments section, and stay tuned to Screen Rant for all your Star Wars updates as they hit.
Source: Variety
