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Star Wars: Rogue One Expected to Have Huge Opening, But Below Force Awakens
With Star Wars: Rogue One slated to hit theaters next month, box office estimates for its opening weekend have now been published. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the spinoff is projected to make $130 million or more for its December 16-18 opening weekend in the United States.
That would be the second-biggest December US opening in history, behind only 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That movie made $248 million for its domestic opening, which was a record. Another tracking service claimed Rogue One could come in near $150 million, while another put it in the $120 million range.
As THR notes, the weeks before Christmas are not historically big for the box office, as people can be distracted with shopping and parties. Before The Force Awakens, no December release had made more than $85 million for its domestic opening--not even the highest-grossing movie in history, Avatar.
The fact that a movie with Star Wars in the title would do well is no big surprise, given the enormity of the franchise. Rogue One is somewhat new territory for the franchise (it's story is about rebels stealing the plans to the Death Star), but it's connected to past films in that it features iconic bad guy Darth Vader and has a connection to A New Hope.
Still, it's not a mainline entry in the series, so it's not expected to make as much as The Force Awakens when all is said and done. That movie raked in $2.1 billion worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing movie in history, behind only Titanic and Avatar.
"We never felt it would do the level that Force Awakens did," Disney CEO Bob Iger said about Rogue One during an investor conference earlier this year. At the same time, Iger pointed out that "the level of interest [in Rogue One] is as high as it was for Force Awakens."
In other news about Rogue One, a new TV trailer was released this week--watch it here. You can also look at 15 new images from the movie here. The Gareth Edwards-directed Rogue One hits theaters on December 16.
More spinoffs are planned, as a film about young Han Solo will come out in 2018, one year after Star Wars: Episode VIII lands in 2017. There are also rumors of a Boba Fett standalone spinoff film.
Star Wars Battlefront is getting Rogue One-themed DLC before the movie's premiere next month. It's called Rogue One: Scarif and adds Jyn Erso and Director Orson Krennic as playable Hero characters.
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That would be the second-biggest December US opening in history, behind only 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That movie made $248 million for its domestic opening, which was a record. Another tracking service claimed Rogue One could come in near $150 million, while another put it in the $120 million range.
As THR notes, the weeks before Christmas are not historically big for the box office, as people can be distracted with shopping and parties. Before The Force Awakens, no December release had made more than $85 million for its domestic opening--not even the highest-grossing movie in history, Avatar.The fact that a movie with Star Wars in the title would do well is no big surprise, given the enormity of the franchise. Rogue One is somewhat new territory for the franchise (it's story is about rebels stealing the plans to the Death Star), but it's connected to past films in that it features iconic bad guy Darth Vader and has a connection to A New Hope.
Still, it's not a mainline entry in the series, so it's not expected to make as much as The Force Awakens when all is said and done. That movie raked in $2.1 billion worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing movie in history, behind only Titanic and Avatar.
"We never felt it would do the level that Force Awakens did," Disney CEO Bob Iger said about Rogue One during an investor conference earlier this year. At the same time, Iger pointed out that "the level of interest [in Rogue One] is as high as it was for Force Awakens."
In other news about Rogue One, a new TV trailer was released this week--watch it here. You can also look at 15 new images from the movie here. The Gareth Edwards-directed Rogue One hits theaters on December 16.
More spinoffs are planned, as a film about young Han Solo will come out in 2018, one year after Star Wars: Episode VIII lands in 2017. There are also rumors of a Boba Fett standalone spinoff film.
Star Wars Battlefront is getting Rogue One-themed DLC before the movie's premiere next month. It's called Rogue One: Scarif and adds Jyn Erso and Director Orson Krennic as playable Hero characters.
More...