The pre-weekend tracking in for Disney’s second Lucasfilm release, theStar Wars: A New HopeprequelRogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the numbers are high.This time last year, the studio shattered box office records with the return of the iconic sci-fi fantasy franchise whenThe Force Awakensslam dunked the all-time biggest opening box office weekend of with $248 million domestic. ButRogue Oneis a very different circumstance. Not only didThe Force Awakenshave the extraordinary hype factor of being the first live-action Star Wars film in a decade, it boasted the return of the original trilogy’s beloved leading cast, and promised a continuation of the saga for the first time since 1983.
By contrast,Rogue Oneintroduces an entirely new cast of leading heroes, is led by a cast that’s tremendously talented but by no means household names, and dips back in the timeline once again. All the same, the force is strong with theStar Warsbrand andVarietyreports thatRogue Oneis on track to debut with a huge $120-150 million, and to double that internationally for a worldwide opening sum of $250 million to $300 million. Not too shabby for a scrappy band of rogues on a mission to steal the Death Star plans.
Rogue Onewill have little in the way of competition as studio competitors wisely steered clear of the hotly anticipated launch of the firstStar Warsstandalone film. Warner Bros.‘Will Smith-led weepie dramaCollateral Beautywill seek out the portion of the audience looking from a reprieve from blockbuster entertainment. Paramount will release theirAugust WilsonadaptationFencesin four theaters, which is poised to generate some awards season heat for starsDenzel WashingtonandViola Davis. But otherwise, the path is clear forRogue Oneto swoop in and dominate.
On top of the proven pull of the Star Wars name,Rogue Oneis also riding on solid early buzz thanks togood word of mouthout of early screenings and positive critical reviews (you can readMatt’s full review here.) And given the quality of this year’s blockbuster output, audiences are probably hungry for a big, spectacle-driven epic that doesn’t suck.
Rogue OnestarsFelicity Jones,Mads Mikkelsen,Ben Mendelsohn,Diego Luna,Donnie Yen,Forest Whitaker,Alan Tudyk,Wen Jiang, andRiz Ahmed, and arrives in theaters this weekend.
