A week into its re-release, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is proving to be more successful than most new films these days. The film is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and is showing that, despite the mixed reception upon its original release, it has developed quite a passionate cult of fans over the years. Through its record-setting re-release alone, Revenge of the Sith has generated over $50 million worldwide, with over $30 million of that total coming from domestic theaters. The movie has also managed to pass major milestones both domestically and worldwide in the last week.
It took the number two spot on the domestic charts in its first weekend back, grossing $25 million. Revenge of the Sith out-performed Ben Affleck‘s The Accountant 2, which has generated $30 million domestically so far. Thanks to this re-release, Revenge of the Sith has passed the $400 million mark domestically, and the $900 million mark worldwide. Its running global haul stands at a remarkable $902 million. All that remains to be seen is if it has the force to pass the coveted $1 billion mark globally. This wouldn’t be an unprecedented achievement for one of these films; Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was also able to pass the $1 billion mark worldwide thanks to its lucrative re-releases over the years.
Revenge of the Sith debuted in 2005, and concluded director George Lucas‘ controversial prequel trilogy of the Star Wars franchise. While it remains the best-reviewed installment of the three films — the movie holds a “certified fresh” 79% Rotten Tomatoes score — it is generally accepted that the prequels were vastly inferior to the original trilogy from the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, a sequel trilogy of movies has also been released. Each of those films was able to pass the $1 billion mark globally, while the first, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Force Awakens, remains the franchise’s only film to pass the $2 billion mark.
‘Revenge of the Sith’ Wasn’t Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen’s Last Appearance of the Franchise
The highest-grossing re-release ever is Titanic, which made $350 million worldwide during its 2012 3D re-issue. Revenge of the Sith featured Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, and Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. It followed their descent into enmity, and Anakin’s emergence as the villainous Darth Vader. The two actors reprized their roles in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, which debuted in 2022 to mostly positive reviews. Revenge of the Sith is running successfully in theaters.
via Collider