On Thursday, Star War: The Last Jedi crossed the $900 million mark worldwide and is nearing the $940 million mark in the box office. But beyond another installment in the Star Wars franchise making big money, the film actually puts Disney past $4 billion in films set in a galaxy far, far away. This milestone means Bob Iger’s deal to acquire Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.06 billion has finally paid off.
The deal made by the Disney chairman/CEO was met with praise by analysts despite the high price tag — and for good reason. Though earning its money back from the combined forces of The Force Awakens, Rogue One and Last Jedi is a nice benchmark to note for Disney, the $4 billion mark doesn’t include how much it cost to produce and market the big three, nor does it include money made off merchandise and theme park attractions. In short, it’s possible that Disney made it’s money back on the deal already through ancillary means.
It all began with J.J. Abrams in 2015 with The Force Awakens, which totaled over $2 billion globally and earned an all-time best $936.7 million domestically. That was followed up by Gareth Edwards with Rogue One — a much riskier installment — which earned $1.056 billion worldwide. Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi should continue to dominate the box office and only time will tell where the film will land in the trio of blockbusters.
The acquisition of Lucasfilm came after the 2009 deal for Marvel Entertainment which followed the purchase of Pixar in 2006. With Iger overseeing it all, each of theses huge deals still come before the biggest one of them all — the $52.4 billion deal for parts of 21st Century Fox and 20th Century Fox film and television studios.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, Kelly Marie Tran, Lupita Nyong’o, and Andy Serkis. Here’s the official synopsis:
In Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past. Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in U.S. theaters on December 15, 2017.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now playing in theaters.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
