Re-Release of ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’ Proves To Be a Force at the Box Office
When Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace hit theaters 25 years ago, the film was dismissed and disparaged by Star Wars fans as a poor imitation of the iconic original trilogy.
Since that time, however, things have changed drastically.
Photo: Star Wars
The children who grew up with the Star Wars prequels have now come of age and hold the 2000s trilogy in a place of reverence.
Lucasfilm Has Built on the Prequel Trilogy
More than that, however, Lucasfilm has done a great job of building out the prequel trilogy story through animated series like The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, and Star Wars Rebels.
The last couple of years have even seen prequel actors who were once maligned and even bullied, like Hayden Christenson and Ahmed Best, return to the franchise, only to be greeted as conquering heroes.
Photo: Lucasfilm
As they say, time heals all wounds, and that has certainly been the case for the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Fan enthusiasm is so high that Lucasfilm recently chose to continue the stories of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in a pair of live-action series.
‘The Phantom Menace’ Delivers at the Box Office
Perhaps then, it should come as no surprise that when The Phantom Menace returned to theaters this weekend in celebration of the film’s 25th anniversary (and to coincide with May the 4th), audiences turned out in droves to see the film that kicked off the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Photo: Lucasfilm
The re-release of The Phantom Menace exceeded everyone’s expectations this weekend and grossed $14.5 during its weekend back in theaters. That was good for second place at the box office, behind only The Fall Guy.
To put that number into perspective, The Phantom Menace grossed more on its re-release opening day ($2.1 million) than all three of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies combined during their re-release earlier this year.
Overall, The Phantom Menace delivered the second-highest gross re-release in a decade. Last year, the re-release of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi opened to $5.1 million
Demand For Star Wars Content Remains High
The reception to the re-release of The Phantom Menace speaks not only to how beloved the prequel trilogy has become but also to the dearth of Star Wars films released in recent years.
Image: Lucasfilm
The last time a new Star Wars film hit theaters was 2019’s Rise of Skywalker.
If this weekend was any indication, fans are hungry for a new film.
