By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
thismeintiel on 04 January 2018
Edit Thread
SuaveSocialist said:
thismeintiel said:

Bwahaha. Wikipedia? Without checking the source?BOM, which gets their data from companies reporting, has the real number. The one you're looking at probably includes all the countless re-releases it saw. I'm talking about its initial 18 month run, where it grossed $307.3M. ESB did $209.4M. And like I said, at 42 weeks ANH was above ESB by only $6M-$7M. So, yes, those extra weeks made a huge difference.

After that good laugh, you're right, this is over.

Speaking of re-releases...

Star Wars (Special Edition) : 580 Million     http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars4se.htm
Empire Strikes Back (Special Edition): 348 Million    http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars5se.htm
Return of the Jedi (Special Edition): 353 Million http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars6se.htm

All three were released the same year, so playing The Inflation Game makes less sense than usual.

They all had about the same time in theaters (Hope had a three-week advantage over Empire, Return had a one-week handicap to Empire), so playing the Theatrical Run Card is self-defeating.  Especially since they were originally planned to have equal playtime, only for Hope and Empire to be kept longer due to their unexpected success.

Home video players had pretty much identical levels of ownership from Jan-April (1997), rendering The Format Argument pointless.

There aren't many places left for you to Move The Goalposts.  All things being equal, Empire made only 60% as Hope, despite it having long since been recognized as the best of the Saga.

Assuming similar performance trends with Episodes 7, 8, 9, TLJ would only be expected to bring in around 1.242 Billion and it's on pace to top that.

Got links to prove those initial run lengths?

Edit: Wait. You're talking about the Special Editions? Why are you even bringing them up in a discussion about the initial runs? Definitely seems like you're reaching for straws.

The fact is that in the US ESB was down ~32%, though WW ESB was down by ~26%.  You can't take out of context that the movie industry was changing and ESB was stuck in the middle. Yes, it was near the beginning of that change, hence ESB having much larger opening numbers than, but still made most of its money after Week 5 (most new movies make the vast majority of their money by Week 3) and got a shorter initial run than ANH. 

All the reasons ESB was down (and I still believe it would have been down slightly, like ~10%, if it was like for like) don't apply to TLJ. It's going to be down massively, more like 35%-40%, because it failed to live up to expectations. Or even be a good film. 

NightlyPoe said: 
I'm still waiting for the original poster to admit that the 68% drop was a result of the calendar and not fan backlash as he claimed.

Don't hold your breath. I don't make it a habit to lie to myself. Especially when the evidence is smacking me in the face. 

Last edited by thismeintiel - on 04 January 2018