The Rise of Skywalker Star Wars IX Box Office Thread

[Mjolnir Reborn]

TFA did not do that imo. It works under the same principle as Logan. A tragedy chased these characters into their comfort zone. It is the introduction of this new cause (as presented in Rey and her mission), that shakes them out of this.

I don't really buy that dangerous smuggling would be Han's comfort zone at that point. By the time Ben falls to the dark side he would have spent significantly more time of his life as a hero of the new Republic, and even the old smuggler in ANH was one that had a sense of what was right and chose not to run away on either of the two occasions where he had the chance to.

Han being a smuggler is just more of the heavy handed message of "hey, we're just like the OT now!" that caused JJ to basically remake ANH. The desperation to wash away the taste of the PT caused them to be redundant. It would have been so much more rewarding to see that Han actually developed as a character during these decades. More than just growing old and becoming a father, which doesn't really tell us anything about his life.

The ST is so set on just repeating what happened in the OT that they don't want to talk about what happened after what was supposed to be the fall of the Empire (so Han regresses and Luke just becomes a despicable version of Yoda). They even say that Luke becomes a legend after saving a handful of people with no witnesses in TLJ (facing Kylo Ren, only to never be seen again, which would sound like he lost), as if he wouldn't already be the biggest legend one could be after RotJ. It all just seems like they don't want these decades to be more than one moment that creates a hook for each character.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I don't really buy that dangerous smuggling would be Han's comfort zone at that point. By the time Ben falls to the dark side he would have spent significantly more time of his life as a hero of the new Republic, and even the old smuggler in ANH was one that had a sense of what was right and chose not to run away on either of the two occasions where he had the chance to.

Han being a smuggler is just more of the heavy handed message of "hey, we're just like the OT now!" that caused JJ to basically remake ANH. The desperation to wash away the taste of the PT caused them to be redundant. It would have been so much more rewarding to see that Han actually developed as a character during these decades. More than just growing old and becoming a father, which doesn't really tell us anything about his life.

The ST is so set on just repeating what happened in the OT that they don't want to talk about what happened after what was supposed to be the fall of the Empire (so Han regresses and Luke just becomes a despicable version of Yoda). They even say that Luke becomes a legend after saving a handful of people with no witnesses in TLJ (facing Kylo Ren, only to never be seen again, which would sound like he lost), as if he wouldn't already be the biggest legend one could be after RotJ. It all just seems like they don't want these decades to be more than one moment that creates a hook for each character.

It is though. It is literally how he spent the entire first half of his life. He grew up doing it on the streets of Corellia. It is the same for Leia, who falls back into her leadership in the Rebellion role. When Han leaves, he is leaving in shame. He feels responsible for his son falling to the dark side. With Leia he has to face that failure. Which is why he falls back on something that doesn't involve her. I do find it interesting that you focus on Han "regressing" when of he is braver and more a "good man" in TFA then he ever was before. Han was a man who had nothing to lose outside of his own life back in the OT. That isn't the case come TFA. He risked everything for his son and his sacrifice has stuck with his son, even as he tries to become what Vader couldn't.

I think Han's inclusion in TFA, outside of his importance to his son, Luke and Leia of course, is what I now expect was the general idea for the trilogy. For Rey to spend a significant amount of time in each movie with a member of the big 3 (with Chewie tagging along the entire time), and learning from them. Basically becoming a part of the family. The complaints of repetition is interesting, as Kylo does not mirror Vader's arc in the OT. It doesn't even mirror Anakin's fall in the PT. If anything, Kylo is Vader in the OT in reverse. Trying to become a villain as opposed to the deconstruction Vader ended up being.

Oh, and I am not a fan of TLJ. But there were witness to what Luke did. The Resistance. We see them watch Luke before realizing what he is doing. The kids who speak of it, understand what the ring means. Which goes along with the idea of them knowing Resistance members. As the Resistance grows again, I am sure they tell the tale of how Luke Skywalker saved them.

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

It is though. It is literally how he spent the entire first half of his life. He grew up doing it on the streets of Corellia. It is the same for Leia, who falls back into her leadership in the Rebellion role. When Han leaves, he is leaving in shame. He feels responsible for his son falling to the dark side. With Leia he has to face that failure. Which is why he falls back on something that doesn't involve her. I do find it interesting that you focus on Han "regressing" when of he is braver and more a "good man" in TFA then he ever was before. Han was a man who had nothing to lose outside of his own life back in the OT. That isn't the case come TFA. He risked everything for his son and his sacrifice has stuck with his son, even as he tries to become what Vader couldn't.

I think Han's inclusion in TFA, outside of his importance to his son, Luke and Leia of course, is what I now expect was the general idea for the trilogy. For Rey to spend a significant amount of time in each movie with a member of the big 3 (with Chewie tagging along the entire time), and learning from them. Basically becoming a part of the family. The complaints of repetition is interesting, as Kylo does not mirror Vader's arc in the OT. It doesn't even mirror Anakin's fall in the PT. If anything, Kylo is Vader in the OT in reverse. Trying to become a villain as opposed to the deconstruction Vader ended up being.

Oh, and I am not a fan of TLJ. But there were witness to what Luke did. The Resistance. We see them watch Luke before realizing what he is doing. The kids who speak of it, understand what the ring means. Which goes along with the idea of them knowing Resistance members. As the Resistance grows again, I am sure they tell the tale of how Luke Skywalker saved them.

As the Solo film shows he was never a real bad guy so it doesn't make much sense to me that he'd start smuggling. Why does he need to do that for money after the life he has lived since RotJ? He should have been set for life with the opportunities that a general of the Rebellion and a key figure in the Battle of Endor would award him in the new Republic, and such a legendary figure should be quite a poor smuggler as well.

As for being more of a good man, I don't know how good it is to have given up on your fallen son and your wife. In ANH he actually never fails to step up when he's needed, even though it seems like he has at the end. At the start of TFA he's clearly put the lives of his crew at risk for money as well, as they all died trying to get those murderous meatballs. My point about regressing is about where they put Han at the beginning, it's not about the entire film as they have Han quickly go through his OT arc, so everyone can feel familiar in what's already happened before.

As for the point of the old characters in the ST I agree, they do to a large extent feel like they are there to serve new characters rather than being written as important in themselves. Although then again Rey is a pretty bland character that is a copy of Luke with less personality but is better at everything, so the lack of character development isn't solely restricted to the old characters. Kylo was written well until the end of TFA though, where he lost all credibility as a threat, so I'll give that credit where I feel it's due.

The Resistance members just see Luke facing Kylo alone, and then they never see him again after that (maybe someone will see a Force Ghost, but that's pretty irrelevant on the whole). Letting a handful of people escape is absolutely pitiful compared to what Luke did in the OT so that shouldn't affect his legend at all. If anything it should rather make Kylo more feared since he faced Luke alone and not only will he be around for everyone to see, Luke won't. The only thing that would add to any legend there is that Kylo was seemingly powerful enough to defeat Luke in single combat, and the message becomes that not even Luke could stop the First Order, for anyone that would actually believe this particular rumor over all the others that should float around for the most legendary person in the galaxy that has been missing.

 

[Lilbaz]

If you liked the new films, great. Everyone has different tastes and if they worked for you that is fantastic.

Others had problems, which is their problems (and mine).

But even the most die hard defender must admit, they could have done better?

 

[Warlock]

If episode IX doesn't make at least $1.65B, it won't beat The Lion King's final BO tally and it will only be the 3rd most popular film of the year at the box office. That would be only the second Star Wars movie to do that, after Attack of the Clones which was 4th in 2002. All other Star Wars saga movies were 1st or 2nd at the BO in their respective years. So was Rogue One for that matter, even though it was a spin off. We shall not bother to mention the other one.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

If you liked the new films, great. Everyone has different tastes and if they worked for you that is fantastic.

Others had problems, which is their problems (and mine).

But even the most die hard defender must admit, they could have done better?

The Force Awakens is my second favorite Star Wars film and one of my 5 favorite films of all time. I expect Skywalker will be up there as well. So outside of little things, I think they did a fantastic job with that one. All the Star Wars movies outside of Empire could have "done better" imo. RotJ outside of Luke's story, isn't exactly a great movie imo. In a lot of ways, I find it boring. The prequels are the prequels. TLJ is the one that bothers me from Disney. The other three, I have either liked (Rogue One) or adored (Awakens).

 

[DarthSkywalker]

As the Solo film shows he was never a real bad guy so it doesn't make much sense to me that he'd start smuggling. Why does he need to do that for money after the life he has lived since RotJ? He should have been set for life with the opportunities that a general of the Rebellion and a key figure in the Battle of Endor would award him in the new Republic, and such a legendary figure should be quite a poor smuggler as well.

As for being more of a good man, I don't know how good it is to have given up on your fallen son and your wife. In ANH he actually never fails to step up when he's needed, even though it seems like he has at the end. At the start of TFA he's clearly put the lives of his crew at risk for money as well, as they all died trying to get those murderous meatballs. My point about regressing is about where they put Han at the beginning, it's not about the entire film as they have Han quickly go through his OT arc, so everyone can feel familiar in what's already happened before.

But smuggling is what he did before meeting Leia and Luke. That was his life. And when running from his new life, he did what a lot of people do. He reverted back to what he knows. It's a classic trope.

He is not smuggling for money. He's returned to his holding pattern, to avoid something he is running away from. A true failure, that saw the love of his life and best friend mortally scarred. Not to mention his son turned into a space Nazi murderer. He feels responsible. He is the boys dad, his wife's husband and Luke's best friend. And he feels like he failed. So he ran. Maz tells him to stop running and he makes the decision to do so. I think the reaction he has when he sees Kylo on Takodana is telling. It's not fear. It's sadness, it's shame. For all Han has ever done, what has happened to his son is his greatest regret.

The scene with Kylo on the bridge is him putting it all on the line. He walks out, surrounded by Stormtroopers, trying to bring his son back. To fix everything he feels he was apart of breaking. And depending on what happens in IX, he might have done just that.

As for the point of the old characters in the ST I agree, they do to a large extent feel like they are there to serve new characters rather than being written as important in themselves. Although then again Rey is a pretty bland character that is a copy of Luke with less personality but is better at everything, so the lack of character development isn't solely restricted to the old characters. Kylo was written well until the end of TFA though, where he lost all credibility as a threat, so I'll give that credit where I feel it's due.

The Resistance members just see Luke facing Kylo alone, and then they never see him again after that (maybe someone will see a Force Ghost, but that's pretty irrelevant on the whole). Letting a handful of people escape is absolutely pitiful compared to what Luke did in the OT so that shouldn't affect his legend at all. If anything it should rather make Kylo more feared since he faced Luke alone and not only will he be around for everyone to see, Luke won't. The only thing that would add to any legend there is that Kylo was seemingly powerful enough to defeat Luke in single combat, and the message becomes that not even Luke could stop the First Order, for anyone that would actually believe this particular rumor over all the others that should float around for the most legendary person in the galaxy that has been missing.

Rey has very little in common with Luke in terms of personality, outside of both of them being super stubborn. I don't find her bland at all, and rather find her to be one of the most captivating Star Wars characters so far. Especially in TFA. Luke, Han and Leia are written as very important, but not the most important characters. As Obi-Wan and Yoda weren't in the OT.

All the story says is he faced down the First Order. That is what he did. I don't even like the scene, but it makes sense in context. Also to a bunch of kids, what he did 30 years ago isn't really relevant to their life now. Especially as they didn't even know the Empire. They know the First Order.

Luke saves the Resistance. He keeps it alive. It doesn't have to be "greater" then what he did before. Obi-Wan's sacrifice wasn't "greater" then fighting in the Clone Wars. But yet it was somehow far more meaningful.

 

[Lilbaz]

But smuggling is what he did before meeting Leia and Luke. That was his life. And when running from his new life, he did what a lot of people do. He reverted back to what he knows. It's a classic trope.

He is not smuggling for money. He's returned to his holding pattern, to avoid something he is running away from. A true failure, that saw the love of his life and best friend mortally scarred. Not to mention his son turned into a space Nazi murderer. He feels responsible. He is the boys dad, his wife's husband and Luke's best friend. And he feels like he failed. So he ran. Maz tells him to stop running and he makes the decision to do so. I think the reaction he has when he sees Kylo on Takodana is telling. It's not fear. It's sadness, it's shame. For all Han has ever done, what has happened to his son is his greatest regret.

The scene with Kylo on the bridge is him putting it all on the line. He walks out, surrounded by Stormtroopers, trying to bring his son back. To fix everything he feels he was apart of breaking. And depending on what happens in IX, he might have done just that.


Rey has very little in common with Luke in terms of personality, outside of both of them being super stubborn. I don't find her bland at all, and rather find her to be one of the most captivating Star Wars characters so far. Especially in TFA. Luke, Han and Leia are written as very important, but not the most important characters. As Obi-Wan and Yoda weren't in the OT.

All the story says is he faced down the First Order. That is what he did. I don't even like the scene, but it makes sense in context. Also to a bunch of kids, what he did 30 years ago isn't really relevant to their life now. Especially as they didn't even know the Empire. They know the First Order.

Luke saves the Resistance. He keeps it alive. It doesn't have to be "greater" then what he did before. Obi-Wan's sacrifice wasn't "greater" then fighting in the Clone Wars. But yet it was somehow far more meaningful.

It doesn't matter how good his reason for running away and reverting. It is the fact he ran away and reverted that is a massive disappointment and that i i didn't like. That luke lan away and hid. That the empire wasn't defeated. That the emperor wasn't defeated.

What was the point of the ot? They achieved nothing.

Now rey has to do what they couldn't. I find it disrespectful to the ot and the to characters. They didn't need to do it. They could have done something new. They could have still had those characters be awesome and then passed on to the next generation with a new threat. They didn't, they show that rey is 10 times the jedi that luke was with little effort and no help she can do jedi mind tricks, master a lightsaber, be a better pilot and engineer than han throw mountains about. Not even mentioning the total waste of space that was snoke.

I didn't like it.

 

[Lilbaz]

Let me put it another way. They made me lose respect for luke and han. Just as the prequels made me lose respect for anakin. Vader luke and han were fantastic characters for me in the ot. So i will disregard the prequels and st. Hope they don't destroy leia too. Characters can have their moments of doubt and pain. But han and luke came through theirs in the ot. To give them each another is ridiculous.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

It doesn't matter how good his reason for running away and reverting. It is the fact he ran away and reverted that is a massive disappointment and that i i didn't like. That luke lan away and hid. That the empire wasn't defeated. That the emperor wasn't defeated.

What was the point of the ot? They achieved nothing.

You not liking the decision is more then fair. But that doesn't mean it didn't work in context or make no sense. It made perfect sense in the context of the story TFA told.

The point of the OT? Well by the time it was over, it was that Luke Skywalker achieved his goal of becoming a Jedi Knight and he saved his father from the dark side. Which after the prequels, is even more emphasized.

As to the Empire, they are not the First Order and we don't know exactly what the Emperor's faction is in IX. Did World War I not happen or did it not matter because World War II happened?

Now rey has to do what they couldn't. I find it disrespectful to the ot and the to characters. They didn't need to do it. They could have done something new. They could have still had those characters be awesome and then passed on to the next generation with a new threat. They didn't, they show that rey is 10 times the jedi that luke was with little effort and no help she can do jedi mind tricks, master a lightsaber, be a better pilot and engineer than han throw mountains about. Not even mentioning the total waste of space that was snoke.

I didn't like it.

Was the OT disrespect to Yoda and Obi-Wan because Luke succeeded where they failed?

The ST isn't about the Empire. It's about Rey and to a lesser extent Kylo. This talk of respect and disrespect rather ignores what is happening in these films. Further, since when is Rey or Kylo much stronger then Luke in these movies? Luke disarms her with ease in their little stick fight. He shows off powers we have never seen before. Snoke shows he could easily tear Rey in half if he felt like it. To say Rey is somehow leaps stronger then everyone else flatly ignores what is going on in the actual films. Beefing the Force and how in looks in practice 40 years after the first movie came out, is a progress of filmmaking. But in context, no one has achieved Vader, Yoda, or Emperor power level yet. To suggest that ignores simple things, like how Rogue One showed just how ridiculously strong Vader would look in a modern film. Or how Snoke embarrasses Rey.

Again you don't have to like it. But ignoring what is happening is still ignoring what is happening.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Let me put it another way. They made me lose respect for luke and han. Just as the prequels made me lose respect for anakin. Vader luke and han were fantastic characters for me in the ot. So i will disregard the prequels and st. Hope they don't destroy leia too. Characters can have their moments of doubt and pain. But han and luke came through theirs in the ot. To give them each another is ridiculous.

It's almost like they were presented with a new situation that they felt responsible for, and thus were not prepared to deal with... But that can't happen because they partied with some Ewoks 30 years ago.

 

[Snow Queen]

It's almost like they were presented with a new situation that they felt responsible for, and thus were not prepared to deal with... But that can't happen because they partied with some Ewoks 30 years ago.

Have you learned nothing from Star Wars' new owner? Nothing bad happens after you defeat the bad guy and have a little party.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Have you learned nothing from Star Wars' new owner? Nothing bad happens after you defeat the bad guy and have a little party.

Don't watch the Frozen 2 trailer, Snow Queen. You won't be happy with what they did to you...

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Tickets sales become more frontloaded every year, and SW is a more frontloaded franchise than Marvel.

The 'finale effect' can also lead to more frontloading.

Solo ($84M opening) destroyed Black Panther ($202M opening) in early ticket sales in case anyone's forgotten.

‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Breaks ‘Black Panther’ Advance Ticket Sales Record – Deadline

Early ticket sales for Solo were 100% larger than Black Panther's.

Solo: A Star Wars Story ticket sales double that of Black Panther

 

[Tony Stark]

I've got no read on this film. There's so much repair work that needs to be done from the fallout from TLJ. I am excited to see this film, however I am skeptical that it will be anything more than what we've seen out of the new Kennedy run Lucasfilm. However this is a Christmas film, which bodes more for having better legs. This will not perform as well as Endgame internationally, but domestically may very well give Avengers a run for it's money. I guess we'll see.

 

[Kuwolski]

860m domestic? I don't see it coming close, although it would be nice to turn the results of TLJ around.

 

[Limonade]

This film feels like it has so much to do in the span of 155 minutes with a bunch of side characters that aren't at all interesting or compelling. I don't expect the story to be any better than TLJ--and a far cry from the OTs. But I feel like the visuals, performances, and overall strategic release of RoS all has this set up to win regardless of audience overall attitude of the film.

 

[sleepytreefrog]

If you liked the new films, great. Everyone has different tastes and if they worked for you that is fantastic.

Others had problems, which is their problems (and mine).

But even the most die hard defender must admit, they could have done better?

Perhaps, but the original trilogy “could have been better.” Look at Return of the Jedi. I think both Force Awakens and Last Jedi are far superior movies in terms of execution.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Google search interest:

Month isn't finalized yet, but so far trails the past environments before December releases.

"Star Wars" costumes are currently #37 in Halloween Costume searches.

Fandango has resorted to only only doing first few hours or so comps instead of full day to spin the early results positively. Atom has it ahead of Aquaman...which did an opening of $67.9M with a preview of $13.7M.

Deadline - ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Ticket Presales Crash Fandango & Others (October 19, 2015)

Fandango’s list of top five first full-day presellers is as follows:

1. Avengers: Endgame (2019): $60M Thursday preview, $357M first weekend
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015): $57M Thursday preview, $248M first weekend
3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017): $45M Thursday preview, $220M first weekend
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016): $29M Thursday preview, $155M first weekend
5. Avengers: Infinity War (2018): $39M Thursday preview, $258M first weekend

‘Avengers: Endgame’ Set First Hour Presales Record, Crash Ticket Sites – Deadline (April 2019)

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

SW:TROS did 12.8M views in ~24 hours of release on Youtube (currently at 17.6M).

Comparisons to LTD (life to date) for other SW movies:

S:ASWS (2018) is 18.7M LTD
SW:TLJ (2017) is 53.7M LTD
RO:ASWS (2016) is 27.2M LTD
SW:TFA (2015) is 104.2M LTD

 

[Warlock]

Google search interest:

Month isn't finalized yet, but so far trails the past environments before December releases.

"Star Wars" costumes are currently #37 in Halloween Costume searches.

Fandango has resorted to only only doing first few hours or so comps instead of full day to spin the early results positively. Atom has it ahead of Aquaman...which did an opening of $67.9M with a preview of $13.7M.

Deadline - ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Ticket Presales Crash Fandango & Others (October 19, 2015)

Fandango’s list of top five first full-day presellers is as follows:

1. Avengers: Endgame (2019): $60M Thursday preview, $357M first weekend
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015): $57M Thursday preview, $248M first weekend
3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017): $45M Thursday preview, $220M first weekend
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016): $29M Thursday preview, $155M first weekend
5. Avengers: Infinity War (2018): $39M Thursday preview, $258M first weekend

‘Avengers: Endgame’ Set First Hour Presales Record, Crash Ticket Sites – Deadline (April 2019)

Lower views than Solo, and presales around Aquaman, which had a $67m opening weekend. I highly doubt it will have Aquaman's crazy legs. Not to mention the presales are proven as phony and paid for by Disney. This is going to be hilarious. I cannot wait for the release.

 

[Gothamsknight]

^^ the only hilarious thing here is your conspiracy theories, but I also find them pathetic.

 

[Lilbaz]

It will make a profit. I'm not that into the franchise anymore but hope it's a good film and others enjoy it.

 

[BatLobster]

Lower views than Solo, and presales around Aquaman, which had a $67m opening weekend. I highly doubt it will have Aquaman's crazy legs. Not to mention the presales are proven as phony and paid for by Disney. This is going to be hilarious. I cannot wait for the release.

 

[Smurphftw]

Didn't take long for the "Disney is buying all the tickets!" conspiracy theories to start up. It will be entertaining see how they move the goalposts as the real numbers start coming in like they did with Captain Marvel.