Thursday, March 28, 2024

Box Office: “Last Jedi” Scores Slightly Lower Opening Day than “The Force Awakens” as Fans Learn Luke Skywalker’s Fate

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“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” had a whopping opening on Friday, including Thursday previews of $45 million: total

But it’s not a record for the franchise. Two years ago, “The Force Awakens” had a two-day opening (Thursday previews, Friday opening) of $119,119,182.

Over the last 48 hours, fans learned the fate of Luke Skywalker, the central character for forty years. (I won’t say what it is, but he’ll only be back as a memory.)

The opening take was $104.8 million. That’s a difference of $14 million, which isn’t terrible but you would think “Jedi” would be a little higher given that this is IT in many ways, a sayonara to the old Star Wars. Maybe as word of mouth increases today more people will turn out. Still, $105 million is more than the rest of the whole box office all together. You can’t beat that.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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