Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now so close we can almost feel the crackle of energy emanating from Kylo Ren’s crossguard lightsaber.
Yes, December 15th is almost upon us, and in an attempt to gauge the sequel’s success, THR has now compiled a report claiming The Last Jedi will clear $425 million worldwide by Sunday, December 17th, when it’ll presumably enter Hollywood’s pantheon as one of the five best global openings of all time – not accounting for inflation, of course.
That estimated cume also factors in The Last Jedi‘s performance in North America, where the Rian Johnson-directed sequel is expected to score a $200 million-plus haul and become the biggest domestic opening of 2017, easily leap-frogging Beauty and the Beast ($178 million).
But by the time Star Wars: The Last Jedi reaches these shores, Lucasfilm’s star-studded juggernaut will already be riding high thanks to its staggered, mid-week rollout across select foreign markets (see: the United Kingdom). Couple this with those early reactions – reactions that have deemed Johnson’s follow-up to be a mind-blowing, beautiful affair – and it appears the Powers That Be have another genuine hit on their hands.
Moreover, even if The Last Jedi falls shy of The Force Awakens – as THR points out, J.J. Abrams’ franchise revival had the distinction of being the first Star Wars movie in a decade – a $425 million global debut would ensure that Lucasfilm’s sequel is well on its way to surpassing the $1 billion mile marker.
For the sake of perspective, over the past three years, The Force Awakens and Rogue One helped pump fresh blood into Lucasfilm’s dormant giant, and collected $2.06 billion and $1.05 billion in the process. All things considered, we imagine The Last Jedi will fall in between those two milestones, though it’s worth mentioning that the imminent space opera has just been crowned Fandango’s top pre-seller of 2017.
Per Erik Davis, managing editor of Fandango:
No movie creates quite the level of anticipation of a ‘Star Wars’ movie, and that’s why ‘The Last Jedi’ is Fandango’s biggest advance ticket-seller of the year. There’s the triumphant return of one of cinema’s most iconic heroes in Luke Skywalker, plus more exciting adventures with returning characters like Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8, and Kylo Ren. With the promise of epic space battles, emotional character payoffs and answers to some of our most pressing ‘Star Wars’ questions, ‘The Last Jedi’ is the most talked-about movie of the holiday season.
It’s almost time. After two years’ worth of far-flung fan theories and enough pent-up excitement to sink a Mega Star Destroyer, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is finally ready for release. December 15th is the date for your diaries, assuming you live in North America.