The suits in Burbank have to be happy with the box office performance of Star Wars: The Last Jedi which has already posted an estimated $45 million in Thursday evening previews. This ranks as the second highest domestic preview gross of all time, coming in 55 percent ahead of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ($29 million) and just 21 percent behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($57 million). The Last Jedi currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93 percent, reflecting the strong word-of-mouth and critical acclaim the film is receiving.
While I’m no forecasting expert, I would not be surprised to see it come in at around $200 million to $220 million domestically over the opening weekend, about 12-18% below The Force Awakens effort of $247M. It’s opening on 4,232 screens for the widest December release ever. This includes a lot of high priced tickets for IMAX and 3-D formats.
The Last Jedi began its international rollout on December 13 in 14 markets, followed by an additional 34 markets on December 14, opening at No. 1 in nearly all and bringing its two-day international total to an estimated $60.8 million and a cumulative worldwide gross of $105.8 million. Director Rian Johnson’s effort is indeed strong in the Force.
The Last Jedi has the second biggest industry opening day of all time in Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden and Iceland—ranking behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens—and the third biggest opening day of all time in the UK and Norway. The film’s debut is the highest of 2017 in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and Ireland.
In addition to its North American debut, Star Wars: The Last Jedi adds Japan and Spain today for a day-and-date release across all territories except China, where it opens on January 5.
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