With excitement building towards the December 20th release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, projections are coming out for the opening weekend. This movie will make A LOT of money, however it may not surpass previous installments of the Skywalker Saga. 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens had an impressive opening box office of $247.9M while 2017’s controversial Star Wars: The Last Jedi grossed $220M opening weekend.
The previous film in particular created a divide within the Star Wars fanbase, with a very vocal population of fans expressing their displeasure with certain creative decisions for iconic characters like Luke Skywalker. Compounded by the hate campaign mixed reception towards Rey’s development, The Rise of Skywalker has a difficult task in pleasing all fans (which is impossible anyways).
The current estimates for The Rise of Skywalker are at $205M, with the estimates ranging from around $175M at a minimum. This can all change depending on word-of-mouth and early reviews, especially in today’s age of social media. Previous Disney films of a similar scope would be Avengers: Endgame ($357.1M opening and all-time record) and Avengers: Infinity War ($257.7M). Realistically, director J.J. Abrams won’t risk alienating fans if his work on The Force Awakens is any indication. All we can hope for is a great film to close the Skywalker Saga. My personal bet is on the film surpassing $200M easily.
Following the events of The Last Jedi, the remaining members of the Resistance face off with the First Order once again, all while reckoning with their troubled pasts. Now holding the knowledge and power of the previous generations, the final battle begins.
