No surprise here, but it is learned that the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker box office is lower than The Last Jedi.
The Thursday previews for Skywalker are around $40 million, $5 million less than the $45 million The Last Jedi brought in back in 2017, and much less The Force Awakens‘ $57 million.
If the 11% decrease for Skywalker holds up compared to The Last Jedi, look for Skywalker to open around less than $200 million for its opening weekend, as The Last Jedi had an opening weekend of $220 million.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker box office coming up short
The China box office numbers are also a complete disaster for the film as it’s performing the lowest and weakest of the new Star Wars trilogy films, with Chinese reviews also at the lowest point.
Elsewhere internationally, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has opened in 46 international markets, bringing in around $59.1 million, which again, is similar to The Last Jedi.
The Last Jedi went on to finish with a $1.332 billion worldwide gross, but it quickly faded at the box office, so it remains to be seen if Skywalker will have better legs and if fans will go see the movie more than once.
The $40 million Thursday preview haul for The Rise of Skywalker also gives it the fifth-best Thursday preview.
Check out the numbers below.
Best Thursday preview box office:
1. Avengers: Endgame – $60M Thurs / $357M three-day
2. The Force Awakens – $57M / $248M
3. The Last Jedi – $45M / $220M
4. Harry Potter 7, Part 2 – $44M / $169M
5. The Rise of Skywalker – $40M / TBD
Here are the numbers for the two previous flicks:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Thursday Previews: $57 Million (47.8% of Friday Gross)
First Friday Gross: $119.1 Million (48% of Weekend Gross)
First Weekend Gross: $247.9 Million
Worldwide Gross: $2,068,223,624
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Thursday Previews: $45 Million (42.9% of Friday Gross)
First Friday Gross: $104.68 Million (47.5% of Weekend Gross)
First Weekend Gross: $220 Million
Worldwide Gross: $1,332,539,889
