The Last Jedidid not make as much money as 2015’sThe Force Awakens, which many saw as a failure at the box office. However, a new report states that Rian Johnson’s firstStar Warsmovie was the most profitable movie of 2017, netting a profit of $417.5 million. Clearly,The Last Jediwas going to do well at the box office with an opening weekend of over $220 million, which is the second highest opening of all time, followed only byThe Force Awakens. Though many seemed to point fingers at the lack of record breaking at the box office, it’s a gamble that paid off in a big way for Lucasfilm and Disney.
Deadline reports thatThe Last Jedi’s combinedbox officeperformance of $620 million domestically and $670 million overseas brings the grand total to $1.33 billion. That’s a pretty impressive figure, even if it is down 46 percent fromThe Force Awakens. These profits mean the combined revenue from the revived Star Wars saga, includingThe Force Awakens,Rogue One, andThe Last Jedi, is just over $1.5 billion. These numbers suddenly make a lot more sense for Disney forking out so much dough for Lucasfilm.
The Last Jediwas in many ways, the complete opposite of J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens. Many complained that Abrams made a paint-by-numbersStar Warsmovie that didn’t break any new ground. Whatever the case may be, the movie absolutely killed it at the worldwide box office. Rian Johnson took a different approach withThe Last Jedi, which paid off critically, but didn’t earn as much at the box office. In the end, it worked for both Disney and Johnson, who is currently working on his ownStar Warstrilogy.
Disney acquired Lucasfilmfor $4 billion back in 2012 and not many people would have been able to predict that only three movies into the deal would pay back nearly 40 percent of that initial cost. If everything keeps going as well as the last three movies, Disney could end up making back all of their money within the next years, leaving them to thumb their nose at the naysayers who though that Disney overpaid for theStar Warsfranchise. It seems like a bargain now, while looking back.
In addition to being the most profitable movie of 2017,The Last Jediis also moving big numbers of the Blu-ray edition. Amazon is currently sold out of the movie and has it on backorder, one day after its official release date.Star Warsfans willalways criticize a new movie, but they will also come out in droves to collect whatever comes out, making it a win/win situation for Disney. Next up on the release schedule isSolo: A Star Wars Story, which isn’t predicted to do as well asThe Last Jedi, but it is on par to do at least as good asRogue One, if not better. You can read Last Jedi’s impressive figures over atDeadline.
