LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The grand finale to the “Star Wars”
saga opened in sold-out theaters to legions of fans dressed in their
Jedi finest, generating an estimated $16.5 million at debut midnight
showings alone.
The unprecedented tally reported Thursday by distributor 20th
Century Fox from some 2,900 midnight screenings fueled anticipation
that “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” would mark one
of the biggest film openings of all time.
huge number,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of
box office tracking service Exhibitor relations. “It portends a huge
opening day number. I think the sky’s the limit right now.”
An estimate for the movie’s entire first day was not expected
until Friday, and Dergarabedian said there was little to measure
“Sith” against so far. Studios rarely break out figures for midnight
showings only.
Perhaps the closest comparison, Dergarabedian said, was to “The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” which took in
roughly $8 million from 2,100 midnight, midweek screenings in
December 2003. That film went on to gross $34.5 million for its
first whole day and $124 million through its opening weekend.
At the same time, the blistering pace of advance ticket orders
for “Revenge of the Sith” accelerated. One leading online and
telephone box office service, Fandango Inc., reported that tickets
were selling at a record rate of six per second, up from four per
second Wednesday.
The top distribution executive for News
Corp. (Research)-owned
Fox, Bruce Snyder, said he “would be pleased” if “Sith” matched the
$110 million grossed by its immediate predecessor, “Attack of the
Clones,” through its first weekend.
Some box office analysts said “Sith,” by virtue of its superior
reviews and status as the final chapter in George Lucas’ “Star Wars”
double trilogy, could surpass the opening-weekend tally of “Clones.”
“Sith” also opened on more screens — some 9,400 domestic prints
in all — than any previous installment in the “Star Wars”
franchise, and ticket prices have climbed since “Clones” came out
three years ago.
Experts said they expected “Sith” to easily gross between $35
million and $40 million on its first day in North American theaters.
That would put it in the same league as “The Return of the King,”
“The Matrix Reloaded,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,”
“Spider-Man” and its sequel.
By comparison, “Attack of the Clones,” which also opened on a
Thursday, grossed $30.1 million its first day, including $6.2
million from debut midnight showings.
“Spider-Man 2″ boasts the biggest first-day box office ever,
$40.4 million, while “Shrek 2″ holds the record for highest
single-day gross — $44.8 million earned in its fourth day of
release. The original “Spider-Man” is the all-time weekend box
office champ, grossing nearly $115 million in its first
Friday-through-Sunday frame.
In the vacuum of official estimates of first-day business for
“Sith,” advance ticket orders offered further evidence that the film
was a blockbuster in the making.
“There are hundreds of sold-out shows across America, and demand
is increasing, not subsiding,” Fandango Chief Executive Art Levitt
told Reuters. “It has picked up significantly even over yesterday’s
sales, and with this momentum (the sales rate) could grow even
higher tomorrow.”
The brisk pace of advance sales and the sight of “Star Wars”
devotees lined up in costumes hours before midnight showings warmed
the hearts of Hollywood executives everywhere looking for “Sith” to
snap a 12-week box office lull.
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