http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars4.htm

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars5.htm

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars.htm

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars2.htm

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars7.htm

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars8.htm

Empire Strikes Back made about 69% of what A New Hope made.

Attack of the Clones made about 63% of what Phantom Menace made.

The Last Jedi hasn't finished its run yet but enough data shows it'll be a minimum of 1.2B which would be about 60% of what The Force Awakens made.

I don't get why some are so defensive about this movie.. I mean I get the negative talk about the film for the most part because people are genuinely frustrated with what they saw and are venting - but people who like it, what's the point? Are you trying to validate your own enjoyment of this film? Who cares? If you like it, just watch and enjoy it and let those who don't have their opinions. It's like they're trying to convince themselves by trying to convince others.

I don't think I've ever seen a film so passionately defended before that was so hated by many. The prequels never even received close to this level of damage control and TLJ was arguably worse. I don't get why it's suddenly happening now.. Makes me wonder, especially considering it's owned by such a large corporation like Disney...

Today, I enjoy the phantom menace a lot. Despite Jar Jar Binks and Mithoclorians (dont know how to write it). Hey you get Liam Neeson as a Jedi... I could watch a movie with him as a jedi just farting for 2 hours and it would still be good.

I heard there is a fan edit on the internet where they almost exclude Jar Jar from the movie and exclude 100% of the references to Mithoclorians. 

They erase around 15 minutes of the movie, so it clocks around 2 hours. Need to watch it.

There is no plot in Phantom Menace. It's a phantom movie.

The amount of hype for it was unbelievable, it's the most hyped movie of all time I think, so it was crushing to see that it was a train wreck. Liam Neeson is in it ... yeah ... but he plays probably the dullest character he's ever played in his acting career, lol.

I remember Neeson saying at one point Qui-Gon puts his arm on Shmi's shoulder, and Lucas didn't like that because it wasn't in the script, but Neeson argued that it was human nature and pushed for Lucas to keep it in. Like Lucas just had no concept of humans relating to each other (lol) by the time the prequels rolled around. It was so robotic and the most jarring thing about it is Star Wars practically invented the "characters with big personality/witty banter/rapid fire arguing" tropes in sci-fi/fantasy movies (which is copied to this day with things like Guardians of the Galaxy).

I just was so stunned that they turned Star Wars into a sterile cartoon. It's a kiddie movie with 30 minutes of rambling on about trade blockades, beaurecrats, Chancellors and other crap and characters just sitting around seated having bland debates.  So Last Jedi, while I had my quibbles with it, I can enjoy it more or less. The prequels let me down 1000x worse. Attack of the Clones somehow manages to be even worse without Jar-Jar in it, which is actually an impressive feat. 

One of the things I enjoyed was the political plot, because I think it was necessary to show how the republic fell and became the empire. How it became a dictactorship twisted from inside using politics. Watching it 12 years later and considering what was happening in my country and around it made me resonate with the movie.

But I agree, it was too much politics, and I forgot to mention, this was one of the things removed on the fan edit. At least part of the politics.

And I agree, attack of the clones is the worst.

Alot of it is  people just being loyal to a brand because it's theirs, so they'll defend it regardless. Some trekkies have been doing that with that new show. I like star wars as an IP but I started to lose interest in it with the prequels and the new films have finally killed my interest. I think it lost what makes it star wars, it's just a cash cow now. 

if someone likes it then they should watch and enjoy it then leave it at that. 

Meager times ahead...

Honestly it's because I think the reaction to this movie is so interesting and and I've seen nothing quite like it. I know my opinion on the movie but I kinda want to know where other people are coming from.

I don't like Rey. She single-handedly ruined the sequel trilogy by just being the worst-written character in the series.

Why can't you express your opinion if you enjoyed the movie? If you want to actually have a debate with someone about the movie then you should expect scrutiny from people who disagree with you. The only people seeking to validate their own opinions is people who are trying to shut down opposition.