Entertainment

Star Wars: The Last Jedi grosses $1 billion at the worldwide box office

Star Wars: The Last Jedi has crossed another box-office milestone, although this one doesn’t come as much of a surprise. As speculated last weekThe Last Jedi has entered the billion dollar club by grossing $1.056 billion worldwide. It accomplished the feat in three weeks which, while a bit slower when compared to its predecessor The Force Awakens, is still impressive nonetheless.

As for records, the movie now sits as the third highest grossing movie of 2017 behind Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Universal’s The Fate of the Furious. Universal’s Fast and the Furious franchise has seen an uptick ever since its revival with Fast Five and Dwayne Johnson’s entry, both of which have led to this eight installment making $1.23 billion at the worldwide box office. Disney’s live-action movie on the other hand seems to have resonated well with audiences despite its mixed reviews which ensured it sits at the top spot this year with its $1.26 billion haul. The Last Jedi is of course not done yet and seems on course to surpass both these movies should it continue its run for another month or so.

Domestically, things play out a bit differently. Star Wars as a franchise has historically proven to be more popular domestically than internationally which explains its high North American grosses. The latest has amassed $533.1 million in the US, racing past the $504 million earned by Emma Watson’s Cinderella epic to become the highest grossing movie in the US. It currently sits at No. 7 among all-time domestic box-office grosses and should surpass The Dark Knight anytime this week. For all the negativity surrounding its plot and twists, one cannot deny that this is one hell of an impressive performance.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is currently running in theaters. The next movie, currently known as Star Wars: Episode IX is slated for release on Dec 20, 2019.