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If it wasn’t evident that people still love “Star Wars,” this past weekend made that crystal clear. In honor of the film’s 20th anniversary, Disney and Lucasfilm have re-released “Revenge of the Sith,” aka “Episode III,” the movie that concluded George Lucas’ prequel trilogy in 2005. Fans turned out in droves to watch the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader all over again (or, for certain filmgoers, for the very first time), with “Revenge of the Sith” now ranking as one of the biggest re-releases ever in terms of opening weekend box office.
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“Revenge of the Sith” made $25.2 million domestically over the weekend, which was good enough for second place trailing only Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which posted a stellar $45 million second weekend. It even outgrossed newcomers “The Accountant 2” ($24.4 million) and “Until Dawn” ($8 million), in addition to edging out “A Minecraft Movie” ($22.7 million) in its fourth weekend. To be clear, all of those movies were at least qualified hits in their own right. Nevertheless, the fact that a 20-year-old movie that concluded a trilogy which was met with, at best, a mixed reception in its day did better than most of the competition is nothing shy of impressive … most impressive. Inded, “Sith” has now earned a grand total of $892.2 million in its lifetime.
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The only re-release to make more money in its first weekend? “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” ($35.9 million) in 1997 when the “Special Editions” hit theaters. But even that came with the promise of new footage. In this case, “Revenge of the Sith” opened in theaters exactly the way it did in 2005. All the same, “Star Wars” fans turned out in large numbers to watch it.
Even 2023’s 40th anniversary re-release of “Return of the Jedi” only pulled in $4.69 million in its first weekend, just for some additional context. We can also look at last year’s 25th anniversary re-release of “The Phantom Menace,” which grossed $8.7 million domestically out of the gate. The numbers in front of us are telling a pretty clear story — one that has major implications for Lucasfilm moving forward.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith has finished the prequel trilogy redemption tour
When they first arrived, the “Star Wars” prequels were met with a mixed reception. “The Phantom Menace” was highly criticized, with the character Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best) becoming a punchline. Despite this, it marked a successful return for the “Star Wars” franchise and went on to become a gigantic hit, grossing nearly $1 billion globally in its original run. But when “Episode II — Attack of the Clones” arrived in 2002 and topped out with well under $700 million globally, it was clear audiences at the time weren’t super on board for the tale of Anakin Skywalker (with Hayden Christensen portraying the Jedi who ultimately became Darth Vader).
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While “Revenge of the Sith” has long been deemed the best of the prequel trilogy, many “Star Wars” fans who grew up with the originals still have pretty mixed feelings about the prequels. Clearly, though, younger generations don’t share that sentiment, as evidenced by the turnout for “Revenge of the Sith.” The love extends overseas as well, with the re-release doing another $17 million internationally for a global weekend total of $42.2 million, all told.
Many fans are now getting to see “Episode III” on the big screen for the first time. A great many fans also grew up watching “The Clone Wars” on TV and came to the franchise outside of the original trilogy. In other words, this re-release was a big deal for a lot of people. Gen Z has fully embraced the prequel trilogy as a crucial part of the “Star Wars” experience. For some, this era has even become the cornerstone of the franchise.
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People still care about Han, Luke, and Leia, that much is certain. But the fact of the matter is that the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy has had nothing shy of a full redemption tour in recent years. We can no longer pretend that they’re a stain on the franchise’s reputation. Lucasfilm would do very well to embrace this moving forward. For now, Disney gets to enjoy some icing on the cake financially, and theater owners get to benefit from some unexpectedly full auditoriums.
You can grab “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD from Amazon.