After taking in $40 million on Thursday here in the United States, The Rise of Skywalker continues to have a successful debut weekend domestically with $90 million in box office tallies on Friday. These early numbers place the US opening weekend ticket sales in the estimated $175M-$200M range we heard about earlier.
J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker soared to $90 million at the Friday box office, putting the tentpole on course for a domestic debut in the $190 million range.
Not even The Force is immune to some sequel fatigue, despite the latest Star Wars pic being billed as a finale to the Skywalker saga. Two years ago, Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi — which divided fans — opened to $220 million domestically, preceded by a then-record $248 million for Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015.
Nevertheless, $190 million would be a huge number, as well as repping the third-best December launch of all time behind Force Awakens and Last Jedi. Friday’s haul, which included $40 million in Thursday previews, is likewise high up on the list of all-time biggest first days for any time of the year, or No. 6, according to Comscore.
