Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens is finally out in theaters. Star Wars fans and casual moviegoers alike are flocking to see the latest installment in Lucasfilm's Star Wars sequel trilogy, and seeing how the original trilogy's characters, namely Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, fit into the overarching story circling Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Kylo Ren.
The Last Jedi, as was expected, garnered millions in advanced ticket sales, which helped Jurassic World's 2015 opening gross of $208.8 million. While the film still has a long way to go, it's already nearing the half-billion dollar mark thanks to a strong performance in international markets.
Related: Star Wars 8 Director Had Freedom of No Pre-Planned Story
Variety reports that Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi is estimated to gross $450 million during its opening weekend at the worldwide box office. Abrams' The Force Awakens earned a record-breaking $529 million when it debuted in 2015, thanks to being the first installment in the sequel trilogy, bringing back the original characters after more than 30 years and being the first Star Wars film in 10 years. The Last Jedi, however, doesn't have that luxury, and it's currently on-track for the fifth largest global opening weekend.
The Last Jedi's estimated global opening of $450 million is certainly a win for Lucasfilm, but it falls under broke Episode VII's box office record in April 2017, despite grossing only $98.7 million domestically during its opening weekend.
At the moment, The Last Jedi is trailing The Force Awakens at the domestic box office, earning only $28 million less than Abrams' 2015 film, but its worldwide opening tells a different story. Considering that it's still in fifth place, the long-awaited sequel should still perform irably around the world. However, if audience reactions are anything to go by, it seems not everyone is as invested in Lucasfilm's latest Star Wars outing as they were for The Force Awakens. That may avert repeat viewings and, thus, damage the film's overall box office performance. While The Last Jedi may not break $2 billion, it's certainly still going to draw quite the box office haul.
More: Star Wars 8: Things You Completely Missed
Source: Variety
