'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Named as Film With Second Highest Opening After Earning $220 Million
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" has ultimately become the second highest opening film in movie history.
The second installment of the latest "Star Wars" trilogy, which was planned by director Rian Johnson, has opened with a staggering $220 million, making it the second highest opening film in history after its Dec. 14 release. The current highest opening film is also the film's predecessor "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," directed by JJ Abrams, which opened with $246 million, not adjusted for inflation.
All in all, "The Last Jedi" is the fourth film to open with over $200 million following "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Jurassic World" and "The Avengers." Furthermore, it has been revealed that the film had opened with $100 million during its first day of release, and so far, it is the second film to achieve such a feat following "The Force Awakens."
The film is also expected to bring in $230 million more from international ticket sales making a total of $450 million on its opening weekend. "The Force Awakens" also previously held the record for the highest opening weekend for a film with $529 million but was subsequently broken by "Fate of the Furious" which made a total of $541 million during its opening weekend.
If everything proceeds as expected, then "The Last Jedi" would definitely enter the Top 10 for the highest grossing films of all time along with two other "Star Wars" films: "The Force Awakens" and "Rogue One." Upon achieving this feat, the film would also be pushing out another "Star Wars" film, "The Phantom Menace," out of the top 10.
"The Last Jedi" quickly follows where "The Force Awakens" had left off, and prior to its release, the film has already met with excellent reviews from critics. The "Star Wars" franchise is already in full gear as they set off to release a slew of other films which includes a young "Han Solo" spin-off, an "Episode IX" film directed by JJ Abrams and another trilogy directed by Johnson.
