After nearly six months in theaters, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has finally ended its domestic theatrical run, and its concluding box office tally is a doozy. When all is said and done, The Force Awakens scored a grand total of $936,662,225. While it scored the all-time domestic record some time ago, surpassing Avatar’s tally of $760,507,625, the film just kept going and going, not just breaking the record but destroying it. It also far outgrossed the prior top-performing Star Wars film, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which finished with $474,544,677 in 1999.
But while The Force Awakens is the domestic box office champ, it didn’t have the stamina to outperform James Cameron’s two juggernauts internationally. J.J. Abrams’ film has a worldwide total of $2.068 billion, which is enough to secure the #3 spot on the all-time worldwide chart, but is short of Titanic’s $2.186 billion or Avatar’s still-insane $2.788 billion. Indeed, Cameron’s worldwide record seems secure for the foreseeable future—I’m doubtful anything can beat that Avatar record. But for a full picture, here’s how the domestic all-time top 10 looks right now:
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1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - $936,662,225
Image via Lucasfilm - 2. Avatar - $760,507,625
- 3.Titanic - $658,672,302
- 4. Jurassic World - $652,270,625
- 5. Marvel’s The Avengers - $623,357,910
- 6. The Dark Knight - $534,858,444
- 7. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace - $474,544,677
- 8. Star Wars - $460,998,007
- 9. Avengers: Age of Ultron - $459,005,868
- 10. The Dark Knight Rises - $448,139,099
The Force Awakens remains a success by all accounts, and it’ll be interesting to see if any of Lucasfilm’s many sequels and spinoffs in the works can come close to any of the film’s records, be it the domestic total or opening weekend ($246.9 million). Sequels by and large don’t perform as well as their predecessors, and while the newness of The Force Awakens demanded it be seen whether you were interested or not, now audiences have had a taste of the new Star Wars franchise and know for certain whether they want to continue with it. That means, despite the quality of further installments, the box office results will probably be lower than Force Awakens. The insane success of Abrams’ film could also explain why Lucasfilm appears bent on nitpicking Rogue One to death.
So while there’s plenty to look forward to in the Star Wars universe to come, it’s unlikely we’ll see something as monumental as The Force Awakens with subsequent films. For a refresher, here’s what Lucasfilm officially has on tap:
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story directed by Gareth Edwards – December 16, 2016
- Star Wars: Episode VIII directed by Rian Johnson – December 15, 2017
- Untitled Han Solo film directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller – May 25, 2018
- Star Wars: Episode IX directed by Colin Trevorrow – May 24, 2019
- Untitled Anthology film written by Simon Kinberg – 2020
