‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ crushing opening weekend box office records

The latest installment in the Star Wars saga “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is stunning the box office this opening weekend and breaking historic opening weekend records.  The newest Disney-Lucasfilm in the latest Star Wars’ trilogy will be raking in approximately $215 million just in North America alone, according to Variety.  Early movie house previews of “The Last Jedi” actually began on Thursday and pulled in about $45 million from those pre-weekend viewings – making this latest Star Wars film, “the second-largest Thursday night preview total ever.”

“The Last Jedi” will be among the top four films ever to pull in more than $200 million in an opening weekend.  In 2015, sister film “The Force Awakens,” also one of the top four films ever to pull in more than $200 million in an opening weekend, earned $248.8 million.  “Rogue One,” opened with a measly $155.1 million on this same weekend in 2016.  “Jurassic World” opened with $208.8 million; and Marvel’s “The Avengers” opened with $207.4 million.  And at its current rate, “The Last Jedi” is expected to be a huge money-maker.

“The Force Awakens” finished its domestic run with $936.7 million and $2.07 billion worldwide, while “Rogue One” took in $532.2 million domestically and $1.03 billion worldwide.

“The Last Jedi” stars Star Wars alums Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher and will be Fisher’s final film appearance prior to her untimely death in 2016. The film was written and directed by Rian Johnson and also features returning cast members Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Andy Serkis, according to Fox Entertainment. “The Last Jedi” picks up the Star Wars story where “The Force Awakens” left off and features newbie cast members Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio del Toro.

Written by:  Ace News Today Staff