It’s the season of re-releases at the box office, and this week’s offering,Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, managed to deliver the sort of numbers in its 25th anniversary year that some brand-new movies would pray for.The Phantom Menaceactuallyfinished second on the domestic box office chartbehind the summer’s first tent-pole,The Fall Guy, whichunder-performed in its opening weekend. Originally released in 1999,The Phantom Menacedeliveredthe second-best opening weekend haul for a re-release this decade, between twoJames Cameronblockbusters —AvatarandTitanic.
The Phantom Menacegenerated a little over $8 million domesticallythis weekend—Avatarmade $10 million in its 2022 re-release debut whileTitanicgrossed under $7 million in its re-release debut last year. It added another $6.4 million from overseas markets, for an estimated globalcumulative haul of just under $15 million this weekend. This takes the film’s running domestic total to $482 million, including all past re-issues. Globally,The Phantom Menacehas grossed around $1.04 billion. Themovie debuted in around 1,300 domestic theaters this weekendand reported a per-theater average of nearly $3,000. Directed byGeorge Lucas, the film served as a prequel to his groundbreakingoriginal Star Wars trilogy, which was released between 1977 and 1983.The Phantom Menacespawned a trilogy of its own, which was followed by a new trilogy of movies that began in 2015.
Contrary to what the excitement around its re-release might suggest,The Phantom Menacefamouslyopened to a sense of deflationin 1999. It was immediatelyseen as massively inferior to the original trilogy, although it emerged as a major box-office success. The film’sreputation hasn’t exactly improved in recent years, although the mixed response tothe more recent theatricalStar Warsfilmshas certainly painted it in a favorable light among a certain section of the franchise’s fans. On the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes,The Phantom Menaceholds a “rotten” 52% score— the second-lowest for a live-action installment of the franchise, which has grossed over $10 billion worldwide.
‘The Phantom Menace’ Is the Fifth-Biggest Star Wars Movie of All Time
Skywalker Saga Movies
Global Box Office
A New Hope
$775 million
The Empire Strikes Back
$549 million
Return of the Jedi
$482 million
The Phantom Menace
$1.04 billion
Attack of the Clones
$656 million
Revenge of the Sith
$848 million
The Force Awakens
$2 billion
The Last Jedi
$1.3 billion
The Rise of Skywalker
$1.07 billion
The highest-grossingStar Warsmovie, un-adjusted for inflation, remainsStar Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, which grossed over $2 billion worldwide almost a decade ago.The Phantom Menaceis among the fiveStar Warsmovies to have generated more than $1 billion in global box office revenue, including the spin-off movieRogue One. In recent years, the franchise has pivoted towards streaming, with well-received shows such asThe Mandalorian,Andor, andStar Wars: Ahsoka. Under Disney’s stewardship, the franchise isundergoing something of a reinvention, with several standalone theatrical projects in different stages of development.
In recent weeks,studios have been re-releasing a host of popular older titleson key anniversaries.Alien,The Mummy, andShrek 2all generated a little over $1 million each in their respective re-releases, while theongoing “Spider-Mondays” programhas already seen the first three live-action Spider-Man films re-issued to strong response.The Phantom Menacetells the origin story of the villainous Darth Vader when he was just Anakin Skywalker. The film starredLiam Neeson,Ewan McGregor,Natalie Portman, andJake Lloyd.
you’re able to watchThe Phantom Menacein theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Two Jedi escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to claim their original glory.
