Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Just Made Box Office History (Again)
It was not the summer box office start that many (myself included) were hoping for. Universal's "The Fall Guy" debuted with just $27.7 million domestically despite earning very good reviews, making for the worst start to the summer movie season in decades. But hope emerged in the form of one of cinema's most cherished franchises as "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" returned to theaters in honor of its 25th anniversary. An old hope, if you will. This once-maligned prequel to George Lucas' beloved sci-fi series helped make up the difference and made its way into the history books. Again.
"The Phantom Menace" re-release brought in $8.7 million domestically over the weekend, which was good enough to land at number two on the charts behind "Fall Guy" and ahead of the previous week's champion "Challengers" ($7.5 million). Internationally, "Episode I" added an additional $6.4 million for a global re-opening of $15.1 million. That's quite a bit less than the 2012 3D re-release of "Phantom Menace," which opened to $22.4 million domestically on its way to $102.7 million worldwide. Even so, it was enough to help cement the film's place in box office history.
Through its various releases, Lucas' first entry in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy now has a running, global total of $1,042,206,656. That puts it firmly in the top 50 all-time, now sitting at number 45 just behind "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" ($1,046,721,266), one of the most expensive movies ever made. It should pass that figure in the coming days. Unadjusted for inflation, "Phantom Menace" now, once again, sits comfortably above "Despicable Me 3" ($1,034,800,131), "Finding Dory" ('$1,029,266,989), "Zootopia" ($1,025,521,689), Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" ($1,025,468,216), and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" ($1,024,466,594").
The Star Wars prequels are no longer reviled
2024 has seen lots and lots of classic movies re-released in theaters thus far. Much of that has to do with the fact that this year's release calendar is very light, in no small part due to the SAG and WGA strikes that shut down Hollywood for months on end last year. Many of them have only made a small dent in the ticket sales gap, such as "Shrek 2" and "The Mummy." But the Force is still strong with this one. Having a "Star Wars" movie released in May — even if it's one made 25 years ago — moved the needle.
More than anything, it's worth considering how the narrative around "The Phantom Menace" has changed in those 25 years. When Lucas' film first hit theaters it was a gigantic success financially. However, many audiences hated it very loudly. It was downright toxic at times. Things certainly improved narratively speaking by the time "Revenge of the Sith" rolled around in 2005 but, for the last two decades the prequels had a complicated legacy. That complication has now turned into something resembling generational reclamation.
For an entire generation of fans, the prequels are "Star Wars." They grew up with these movies, not to mention seven seasons of "The Clone Wars" animated series and tons of other supplemental media set in the prequel era. There are fans who genuinely love this era, genuinely love these characters, and genuinely love these movies. Much as Anakin Skywalker was eventually redeemed in the final minutes of "Return of the Jedi," the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy has been redeemed In a very meaningful, quantifiable way.
"Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" is back in theaters now.