The Last Jedi Box Office Specials and Props
Not so long ago in a galaxy very nearby, a little film called Star Wars took the world by storm, earning a cool $755.5 million at the box office and becoming the highest grossing film of all time (at the time). Later retitled Star Wars: Episode VI – A New Hope, it was produced with a modest $11 million budget, and yet spurred a franchise that would go on to earn an approximate $37 billion, the films forever cemented in our collective social consciousness as some of the greatest of all time (at any time).
Did George Lucas have any idea that his low-budget film would one day become the absolute force of nature we know it to be? (No pun intended.) Could fans of the original have predicted that the beloved saga would one day be just a small part of such a vast universe, with spin-offs, prequels, fan theories, books, merchandise, even betting props and odds attached to it?
Funnily enough, Lucas was never really convinced people would like his film. During an interview at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2015, he admitted that, even when the president of 20th Century Fox called him personally, he still did not believe that the success was real, or that it would last. However, as we know, it was and it did, to a degree no one could have dreamed.
The $775.5 million that Star Wars: Episode IV earned back in 1977 was definitely nothing to sniff at, however the franchise remains prominent in today’s movie marketplace, one where pirating and illegal downloads cut into profit margins. The next entry in the Star Wars saga, The Last Jedi, is expected to rake in about $555 million on opening weekend alone and easily exceed $1 billion when it’s all said and done.
Over/Under on The Last Jedi’s Worldwide Opening Weekend Gross: O/U $555 million
The “over” on opening weekend gross is a little too optimistic. The Force Awakens brought in a gross of $529 million on its opening weekend; timing and anticipation for The Last Jedi taken into account, it should do similar numbers. But adding on another $30 million or so is a tough ask.
Odds Kylo Ren Kills Leia
The Force Awakens left us with so many questions, and you can bet on the events that will transpire within Last Jedi. After (spoiler alert) Kylo Ren offed his dad (Han Solo) in The Force Awakens, it’s highly unlikely he goes two-for-two on his parents with a little Last Jedi matricide. Sprinkle a little on the “no” side and maybe you’ll come out of the midnight screening with your popcorn paid for!
An unabashed interest in the lives of other people and all things pop culture makes analyzing the world of entertainment an easy fit for Kaela. With a degree in Intercultural Communication, she has contributed to SBD since 2017.
