Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ranks as the least profitable installment of Disney’s sequel trilogy. Hitting theaters last December, the highly-anticipated blockbuster proved to be something of a mixed bag. Rather than serving as a triumphant conclusion to the Skywalker saga, the film earned polarizing reviews, receiving criticism for its rushed story, muddled plot, and alleged retcons of The Last Jedi. Even star Daisy Ridley was taken aback by the vitriol lobbied at The Rise of Skywalker, admitting the backlash was difficult for her to deal with in the aftermath of the film’s premiere.
Following The Last Jedi (itself one of the most divisive movies of the past decade), that word-of-mouth didn’t do The Rise of Skywalker any favors at the box office. To be fair, the film was always projected to post the lowest opening weekend of the sequel trilogy, with estimates pointing to a high of $210 million domestically. However, The Rise of Skywalker earned $177 million in its first three days, a figure that paled in comparison to its predecessors. And while Rise of Skywalker did end its run in the black, its bottom line wasn’t as impressive as the other movies in the trilogy.
Per Deadline, The Rise of Skywalker earned $300 million in profits, a number considerably lower than The Force Awakens’ $780.1 million and The Last Jedi’s $417.5 million. Rise of Skywalker even turned a smaller profit than spinoff Rogue One ($319.6 million). However, it’s important to keep in mind that Rise of Skywalker’s profit reported here does not include anything made from merchandise sales.
Based on The Rise of Skywalker’s box office performance, this was probably to be expected. Rise of Skywalker was the lowest-grossing entry of the trilogy, finishing its run with $1.074 billion worldwide. It also sported the trilogy’s largest production budget, costing $275 million to make (The Force Awakens cost $259 million, while The Last Jedi was an even $200 million). That obviously isn’t the best combination, impacting how much Disney made from the film. Nobody’s saying The Rise of Skywalker is a box office flop, but the studio was probably hoping for a stronger showing. After all, this was billed as the epic finale of the Skywalker saga and the movie event of the holiday season. Matching Avengers: Endgame was probably unrealistic at that point, but few would have predicted The Lion King and Joker would have grossed more than a mainline Star Wars film.
Disney knows they rushed out new Star Wars content following their acquisition of Lucasfilm, which likely expedited a sense of franchise fatigue and diminished interest in the brand. It’s for that reason the Star Wars movie hiatus will likely benefit the property in the long run. The next Star Wars movie won’t reach theaters until December 2022, a full three years after The Rise of Skywalker. That time off will hopeful reinvigorate moviegoers’ appetites for stories set in the galaxy far, far away, leading to a higher profit margin. It might also be a good idea to keep the next films’ budgets under control, making it a little easier to end up in the black. Again, $300 million is nothing to sneeze at, but when Lucasfilm relaunches the Star Wars movies, they want them to come roaring back with a huge showing.
