In movie theaters in a galaxy not so far away, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is returning to celebrate its 20th anniversary as the number 1 box-office hit of 2005. In addition, the movie theater industry hopes the re-release will provide a spark to ticket sales that have struggled to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
(Culture Slate)
The Star Wars franchise is a world-famous series of 12 epic and timeless films. With the first release in 1977, its story of good versus evil from a world far, far away has captured fans’ imaginations for generations. Well-known characters like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Darth Vader became fixtures of pop culture in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Finally, in 1999, director George Lucas revived the franchise to take fans back in time before the original characters existed. Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith introduced new characters and launched the franchise into a new generation. From 2016 – 2019, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures released 4 more films that would break box office records with each bringing in more than $500 million.
A widely anticipated film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith was originally released on May 19, 2005, and brought in over $108 million on its opening weekend. It finished the year with over $380 million in revenue and outpaced Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by over $90 million. At the time, the $380 million made episode III the second highest grossing film of the six in the Star Wars franchise behind only Star Wars: Episode I – The Phanton Menace. Today, it is the 6th highest grossing film in the franchise and its re-release has already generated $30.7 million in less than a week.
(Sales Left to Right: Production Budget, Opening Weekend, Domestic Box Office, Worldwide Box Office) (the-numbers.com)
With more movie watchers opting to stream or binge-watch new releases, theaters are working with movie studios to re-release old hits with the hope of bringing fans back to the big screen. According to film website boxofficemojo.com, 2024 saw 823 million theater tickets sold for a total of $8.5 billion. While the industry has been slowly recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2024 numbers still represent a 33% drop compared to 2019 when 1.23 billion tickets were sold for a total of $11.4 billion.
If the re-release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith can indeed provide a boost to ticket sales and introduce new fans to classic films, it will be a benefit to everyone. May the force be with you!
