Posted on 05/20/2005 1:06:46 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
Inflation-adjusted, the original Star Wars is the #2 all-time domestic grosser with $1.1 billion in today's dollars. Each successive Star Wars sequel/prequel made less than the previous one. Here are their rankings on the all-time list in today's dollars:
2. Star Wars (1977) --> $1,139,965,400
12. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) --> $628,356,100
14. Return of the Jedi (1983) --> $601,980,200
19. The Phantom Menace (1999) --> $542,861,700
80. Attack of the Clones (2002) --> $342,198,200
You can see the original was the true phenomenon. I don't think the series would still be reverberating through the culture so big almost 30 years later if the original movie hadn't made the massive impact that it did.
The earlier movies presumably had an easier time making more money due to being rereleased over multiple years in a largely pre-home video era. But The Phantom Menace didn't do too bad, making more than any movie released since Return of the Jedi with the exceptions of Titanic and Jurassic Park. As I recall that was also a big media phenomenon at the time, with fans lining up outside theaters to see the first new Star Wars in 16 years.
I was a little surprised to see Attack of the Clones take such a big dip. It did have some big competition for both kid and geek audiences from Spider-Man out at the same time. I also think the impact of 9/11 may have affected audience interest. I'm not sure that a movie about war provided the same feeling of escapism at that time, especially a dark movie with a mixed victory at the end at best. Fans seemed to like this one better than The Phantom Menace, but it may have confounded some audience expectations, removing the kiddie characters like Jar Jar and the boy Anakin from the previous episode for a far darker storyline. At any rate, it was a solid success but also the first Star Wars movie to be something less than a phenomenon.
Now comes the final movie, and the audience interest seems to be greatly rebounding. There are so many possible reasons, but I think the first reappearance since the '80s of the saga's most popular character Darth Vader, heavily featured in the advertising, could be the biggest. There was also a new Star Wars cartoon series on Cartoon Network since the last movie, probably generating more kid interest than before. General audiences are also starved for some entertainment after a major glut of crowd-pleasing movies at the box office this year. Finally, the original trilogy was released on DVD for the first time last year, getting awareness out there months in advance and reminding fans of the original movies if not creating more fans. A big selling point on this new movie seems to be that it ties together the recent prequels with the original trilogy.
This movie will best Attack of the Clones' gross easily. The real challenge will be measuring up to the previous 3 movies. The Phantom Menace is within striking distance at least, but it's by no means a slam dunk. The PG-13 rating and heavier violence could hurt repeat viewings by kids, in contrast to the more family-friendly Phantom Menace. However, if the fan reaction is more positive than to the last 2 movies, there might be more repeat viewings from that crowd. To beat Titanic's adjusted domestic gross, Revenge of the Sith would have to make over $821 million, which seems almost as unlikely as would besting the original Star Wars.
The really amusing thing is how real-life cloning has become an issue just as the clones of Star Wars were introduced in these last 2 episodes. The elder Obi-Wan mentions the Clone Wars in the original 1977 movie, so it was not a plot element Lucas just ripped from the headlines recently, it was planned all along.
The adjusted figures come from here:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/
I loved that movie! thanks for the laugh!!! :)
They marketed the living snot out of that movie. Probably spent $50 million on the pre-release ads alone.
LOL - I need a "Jump to Conclusion" mat.
Come back to #politicsii already.
I used my toyota-ticket's-to-the-movies promotion to see "Robots" shown in IMAX format on 4/30 {an $11.50 value and future ticket for "Star Wars III" a $7.50 value - not a bad deal - spent $23.99 on an oil change and got 2 free tickets valued up to $12.00 each}. I did this on April 30th.
I will see it next Wednesday, May 25th at 3:30 PM. This way, I avoid the crowds.
One thing that caught my attention however. In one of the climatic fight scenes Obi Wan says only Sith deal in absolutes...however earlier he refers to Darth Sidious as evil...guess jedi use absolutes as well, but they're just hypocrites about it.
I believe Gone with the Wind is the box office leader of all time when you factor it cost 10 cents a ticket compared to about a $7 average price now.
The same thing holds true for any of the earlier Star Wars renditions: Episode IV, V or VI would probably rank #1 if they were adjusted for inflation.
I don't know what the current deal is, but with the Earlier Star Wars movies, I believe Lucas got 80% of the gross and 20% of the concessions. Not bad and all parties were and are very happy. They make even more money on the DVD sales.
Then why post - if I see a thread that does not interest me, then I don't bother to read it. Move along, there is nothing to see here;-)
It is also available in downtown Los Angeles for $5.00, but you get what you pay for. Usually lousy quality and the sound is only stereo at best, but you can get some extra special effects such as people walking in front of the camera and snack eating sounds.
Liked them both, Clones more than TPM.
No. There are a couple of lines that, at first blush, you might think are "liberal." But this is a perfect allegory for Hitler, who starts off (apparently) benign then transforms. And Bush isn't Hitler---it premiered in China, and I'm sure the Chinese were thinking that the Emperor looked a lot like their own decrepit leaders.
My money and bazillions of other people's.
but dont movie tickets go up in price every 6 mo or so? whats the adjusted prices.....or actual # of tickets?
I've never understood that either. It's as if a particular poster thinks that others want to know what they think of any given subject..... Well, maybe I do understand it.
Anyone recall how much opening day take the Lord of the Rings trilogy pieces got, for comparison?
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