Star Wars: The Last Jedi Tracking For Over $200 Million Opening Weekend
No surprise here– Star Wars: The Last Jedi is tracking for a huge opening weekend. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie should easily pull in over $200 million in its domestic opener, although the real test will be if it can match (or surpass) The Force Awakens' $248 million.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi will follow-up on the ending of The Force Awakens, in which Rey (Daisy Ridley) found Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on the deserted planet of Ahch-To. The movie's plot has been kept mostly under wraps, but we do know that Luke will not take to Rey immediately. Rey's interactions in the movie will also pit her against Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).
Elsewhere, Finn (John Boyega) will team up with new character Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) for a mission to the casino planet Canto Bright, where they will meet up with a mysterious new character played by Benicio del Toro. Meanwhile, Poe (Oscar Isaac) will be trained to lead the Resistance by General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). He'll have some competition, though, from Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo, another new character.
Tracking is still early for The Last Jedi, but all signs point to it being a huge box office draw. Disney insiders are said to believe that the movie will surpass Beauty and the Beast's $174.8 million for the largest opening of the year to date. Beauty and the Beast currently also holds the title for the sixth largest domestic opening of all time; The Force Awakens holds the number one spot. (via Box Office Mojo)
Despite The Last Jedi's massive expected box office, some theaters are actually refusing to play the film thanks to strict financial requirements set by Disney. Audiences who head out to see the film should also be prepared to stick with it for the long haul, as the movie is said to be the longest Star Wars film yet at a whopping 150 minutes.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is written and directed by Rian Johnson. The movie also stars Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Joonas Suotamo. The film hits theaters on Dec. 15.