The Last Jedi Box Office Predictions (No Movie Spoilers Please)

[A24 4,322]

8 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

sorry but that is utter bs. Excuse me let me clarify, BULLSHIT.

 

Audiences in 1980 went freaking nuts for ESB. We're talking at the time the 3rd most successful film in cinema history at that point. It was one of only a small handful of films to make over 100 million and only the 2nd film to make over 200 million in it's initial release. This was a film that sold out the theatres for weeks. The boxoffice in the 70's and 80's was so different then and it does not resemble the current boxoffice situation in the 2nd decade of the 21st century. 

 

To say audiences found ESB less digestible that ROTJ is ridiculous for two reasons, 1. it preceded it, and 2. the ending of ESB set up the success of ROTJ.  

Watching TLJ or even TFA speed it's way to big BO numbers fails to impress as did Jaws, Star Wars, ESB, Raiders,and E.T in their boxoffice journeys. 

 

Their success was phenomenal because theses films became phenoms. They were not manufactured boxoffice hits. There was no guarantee. Sequels were not an automatic. What The Empire Strikes Back did was unprecedented. Yes Jedi made more but it was not what people expected and the level of disappointment was far higher given the great set up by ESB. A high percentage of fans to this day say ESB is the best sequel in the series and possible the greatest sequel of all time. It certainly ranks high at this site where it is considered John's greatest score. 

 

I personally remember seeing the film on opening day, After it was over I immediately bought tickets for that evening so I could take my mom. "SPOILER ALERT" there was one scene when the audience gasped in unison. That day everyone stood and cheered despite the open ended ending. 

 

Well said, Joey. I went in expecting a lesser movie (it's a sequel after all) but I came out thinking it was just as good as the first one. That pleasantly surprised me. And as far as I recall and I do remember it very well, my opinion was shared with the audience and the critics. For the record, me and my friends all hated ROTJ.

[Chen G. 3,940]

Oh, its the best Star Wars film, and by a mile. But that it remains the least commercially successful is telling.

[A24 4,322]

2 minutes ago, Chen G. said:

Oh, its the best Star Wars film, and by a mile. But that it remains the least commercially successful is telling.

 

Some people say the same about the third Matrix movie. It's just one of those things you have to live with.

[Bilbo 3,709]

1 hour ago, LOTRHobbitFan said:

 

LOTR is one of a kind in that sense. Flawless trilogy. Perfectionists would only comment on its lack of following the book entirely. It doesn't bother me, though.

 

Toy Story says hello 

[Chen G. 3,940]

Films aren't just measured by how well they're made.

 

Its also a matter of how inherently dramatic or undramatic the material is. The Middle Earth films have much more emotional heft to them, and that matters more than the occasional flaw.

[LOTRHobbitFan 20]

36 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

 

Toy Story says hello 

 

That is true!

[Nick1Ø66 4,687]

2 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

 

Well said, Joey. I went in expecting a lesser movie (it's a sequel after all) but I came out thinking it was just as good as the first one. That pleasantly surprised me. And as far as I recall and I do remember it very well, my opinion was shared with the audience and the critics. For the record, me and my friends all hated ROTJ.

WRONG. 

 

My friends and I all hated ROTJ, Alex. 

 

My friends and I. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

ROTJ is a bad film, the first of 4 bad Star Wars films. 

[A24 4,322]

Steef gets it. 

 

 

Sorry, but I'm not speaking in a formal register, so 'me & my friends' is perfectly fine. 

[gkgyver 1,645]

Godfather II is the best sequel of all time.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Could be.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

It's okay.

[mstrox 6,637]

It's the best Godfather sequel of all time.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,488]

1 hour ago, gkgyver said:

Godfather II is the best sequel of all time.

 

You know what? I can't think of any reason to disagree. If THE GODFATHER PART II is the best sequel ever, then TESB is the second-best, by a country mile.

[mstrox 6,637]

I've never sat through the whole Godfather Part II.

[Wojo 2,453]

2 hours ago, gkgyver said:

Godfather II is the best sequel of all time.

 

Maybe. It's definitely the best prequel of all time. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The Godfather is as much a prequel and a sequel to The Godfather II as The Godfather II is to The Godfather!

 

Mull on that for 5 minutes!

[Wojo 2,453]

5 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

The Godfather is as much a prequel and a sequel to The Godfather II

 

Incorrect. The Godfather is a prequel to nothing.

 

Star Trek IV is the sequel to Star Trek III. 

Star Trek III is not the prequel to Star Trek IV. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Damn, that's 5 minutes of my life wasted!

[Wojo 2,453]

Just now, Stefancos said:

Damn, that's 5 minutes of my life wasted!

 

Then you freely admit it was a pointless post. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Not at all. You corrected my false assumption, meaning that i have learned!

 

It would have been pointless had you not responded to it. Thank you!

[gkgyver 1,645]

Godfather II is a sequel because it came after Godfather. Don't know why anybody would call it a prequel.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Cuz it's got all those bits in the past.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Well, yes, but unless a movie is ostensibly set in the past for 99,9% of its runtime, like Episodes I-III or the Hobbit films, and it has a direct continuation of the previous movie, it's a sequel.

[Wojo 2,453]

Haha no. 

[Nick1Ø66 4,687]

Just watch the chronological Godfather Saga. It renders moot all such trivial debates.

 

[Brundlefly 2,385]

5 hours ago, Stefancos said:

ROTJ is a bad film, the first of 4 bad Star Wars films. 

You know, I think there are 4 quality levels of Star Wars films:

 

4 and 5

7 and 8

3 and 6

1 and 2

 

Hopefully Episode 9 will belong to one of the first two categories.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

The best trilogy ever made was Indiana Jones. Sadly, it's no longer a trilogy.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It's the Original Trilogy!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,488]

...and now its the "unoriginal" quadrilogy, soon to be the dog-shite quintilogy 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Why? After TPM was released, but before AOTC, people already referred to the Original Trilogy of Star Wars.

 

The Indiana Jones Original Trilogy.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Who are you talking to, Richard?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

No! Please unblock me! I'm sorry!

[gkgyver 1,645]

2 hours ago, Woj said:

Haha no. 

 

Thanks for the insight. Much appreciated.

[Wojo 2,453]

Forgyve my not gyving a shit. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Gyver versus Woj is like Aliens v Predator!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

9 hours ago, Nick1066 said:

WRONG. 

 

My friends and I all hated ROTJ, Alex. 

 

My friends and I. 

He said it just as correct. Because he used all me and my friends acceptable.Talking his writing, not his thoughts on Jedi.

 

 

for once me and Alex agree. We have had numerous discussions over the years about what went wrong with ROTJ. Unlike the prequels the potential was there for a good possibly great film. Making Vader into a lap dog did not help.

[Nick1Ø66 4,687]

I'm not disagreeing that ROTJ was the weakest film of the three; it clearly is, and has numerous issues. Emasculating Han Solo did not help.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

12 hours ago, Chen G. said:

Oh, its the best Star Wars film, and by a mile. But that it remains the least commercially successful is telling.

again, bullshit

 

Your inability to even grasp the boxoffice situation of the time period renders your comment irrelevant. 

[Chen G. 3,940]

12 minutes ago, JoeinAR said:

Unlike the prequels the potential was there for a good possibly great film. Making Vader into a lap dog did not help.

 

Well, the prequels also had the potential to be much more compelling than they were. Although, given that Return of the Jedi was never a very good concluding film even for just the two films that immediately preceded it, meant that, as a sextet, this series was always going to be front-loaded by the addition of three prequel films.

 

Maybe now with three sequels the overall series will feel more balanced, but I doubt it.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

20 hours ago, Chen G. said:

Well, the prequels also had the potential to be much more compelling than they were. Although, given that Return of the Jedi was never a very good concluding film even for just the two films that immediately preceded it, meant that, as a sextet, this series was always going to be front-loaded by the addition of three prequel films.

 

Maybe now with three sequels the overall series will feel more balanced, but I doubt it.

The average of really good films used to be 2/6. Since Disney has the power it's 5/9. That average was raised within just three years.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

There are only 4 good Star Wars films.

[crocodile 7,973]

21 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

again, bullshit

 

Your inability to even grasp the boxoffice situation of the time period renders your comment irrelevant. 

But...it made the least amount of money out of the three. Domestically, that is.

 

Karol

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

The Ewok movies and the prequels are the only ones you need. The originals are badly dated and incredibly overrated these days. They're space movies for young boys. Even so, ROTJ is a pretty bad sequel. Lucas tried to save it, even stepping in to direct certain scenes and later integrating familiar characters and settings from the prequel trilogy, but its fate as the weakest entry in the original trilogy had already been sealed. The actors are bored, walking around a national park in L.L. Bean attire.

 

Disney's films have nothing to do with Lucas' original vision and like he said, there is no Episode VII. I don't even consider them.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I'll consider any SW film scored by John Williams!

[Brundlefly 2,385]

Just now, Stefancos said:

I'll consider any SW film scored by John Williams!

As a Star Wars fan I do it the same way! So there will be 9 Star Wars films and that's it!

 

George Lucas is not Star Wars! John Williams is Star Wars!

 

But as a movie fan I cannot deny that Rogue One is a good movie.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I've completely forgotten about Rogue One, such a non-event.

[Ollie 1,059]

1 hour ago, crocodile said:

But...it made the least amount of money out of the three. Domestically, that is.

 

Karol

 

 

Its box office kept pace with the first film well into the fall. By September / October it’s gross was basically the same as Star Wars. I don’t think it got the amount of reissues in theatres as the first film did.

 

It’s also sold the 3rd most tickets for a Star Wars film. Star Wars and TFA sold the most tickets, according to box office mojo. IMDb says it sold the second highest amount of tickets for a Star Wars film.

 

Adjusted for inflation, Empire only trails Star Wars and TFA domestically. 

 

 

A bit off topic but I think Raiders of the Lost Ark holds the record where I live for most consecutive weeks at the theatre at over 30.

 

[Fancyarcher 350]

Actually adjusted for inflation, and including the original release, Jedi has Empire beat somewhat, which makes sense as it had (at the time), the finality factor to it.

 

I think box office wise, Episode IX will continue the tradition of the previous trilogies and gross more then TLJ.

[Ollie 1,059]

Empire beats ROTJ when adjusted for inflation and it’s international gross, not adjusted, was higher than Jedi’s as well.