![]() ![]() To wit, Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace earned $28 million in its debut Wednesday, which led to a $64.82m Fri-Sun and $105m Wed-Sun gross (in just 2,970 theaters). But even absent that advantage, the film was incredibly leggy especially when you consider the film’s reputation as a kind of Hollywood disaster. Second, at the time, theaters playing the anticipated summer blockbuster were required to keep the film in their higher-end auditoriums for longer than normal, which certainly played a role in its summer legs. First, the Liam Neeson/Natalie Portman/Ewan McGregor/Jake Lloyd sci-fi prequel opened on a Wednesday (with a then-record $28 million single-day gross), which slightly skews the multiplier in a positive direction. It played all summer long, becoming one of the leggiest blockbusters of the modern era. More importantly, at least to the conventional wisdom that folks hated the movie as much as the hardcore fan base did, that movie didn’t just snag a huge total box office sum 18.5 years ago. It earned $431 million in domestic release (around $754m adjusted for inflation) and $924m worldwide (on a $115m budget) sans any kind of IMAX or 3D upcharges, which was the third-biggest domestic grosser (behind Titanic's $600m gross in 1997/1998 and Star Wars lifetime total of $460m) and the second-biggest global grosser (behind Titanic's $1.8 billion gross) ever at the time.Īs George Lucas said when promoting Attack of the Clones (paraphrasing): “I made More American Graffiti, I know what happens when people don’t like a sequel, no one goes.” But audiences did go and see The Phantom Menace in theaters that summer. But it also made an unholy amount of money in the summer of 1999. It destroyed our childhood, wrecked Star Wars, etc., etc. Yes, I know, we all allegedly hate The Phantom Menace. ![]() And, at least over the last 15 years, few mega openers, or even movies that opened above $30 million, have been as leggy as Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. ![]() I’ve written quite a bit about the legs for major openers, specifically in terms of Wonder Woman and the big openers that legged it out well past the debut weekend. But on this odd Star Wars-themed day, where fans celebrate where the real money from the movie is made, I wanted to take a moment to note something. ![]()
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