From its inception, the Star Wars franchise has been a box office juggernaut. In 1977, Star Wars: A New Hope was far and away the year’s highest-grossing film, defying expectations as it ultimately broke the all-time record held by Jaws. In the nearly five decades since, Star Wars movies have consistently earned an impressive amount of money in theaters. Of the 11 live-action Star Wars films released to date, only one has not finished as one of the three highest-grossing films domestically for the year (2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, unsurprisingly, which came in 12th). Eight were the top movie at the box office in the United States, with Attack of the Clones and The Rise of Skywalker “settling” for third place.
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Simply put, Star Wars has a very consistent box office track record, but which one stands above the rest? Ahead of the release of this summer’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, we’re ranking each of the previous Star Wars movies by their box office figures. For the purposes of this article, we used data from Finance Buzz, which adjusts numbers for inflation. All of the totals here include any theatrical re-releases the films had. This list goes from lowest to highest.
11) Solo: A Star Wars Story – $277.8 Million
The last-place film on this list shouldn’t come as a shock. To date, Solo: A Star Wars Story is the only Star Wars movie to bomb at the box office. That underwhelming performance was caused by a combination of factors, including its production budget spiraling out of control (an unfortunate byproduct of the extensive reshoots required after original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired) and an extremely competitive release date. By the time Solo arrived in late May 2018, audiences had already been treated to blockbusters Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2, so there wasn’t much of an appetite for another big-budget tentpole, even one that was part of the iconic Star Wars franchise.
10) Star Wars: Attack of the Clones – $565.4 Million
In 2002, Attack of the Clones was near the top of the box office charts, but it’s one of the lowest-grossing installments in the Star Wars series. This can likely be attributed to a couple of plausible reasons. For starters, similar to Solo, Attack of the Clones dealt with a top-tier box office rival during its theatrical run. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man was the No. 1 film that summer, bringing in $403.7 million domestically (unadjusted) to Attack of the Clones‘ $302.1 million. Additionally, after The Phantom Menace kicked off the prequel trilogy on an uneven note, mixed word of mouth might of discouraged some people from seeing Clones in theaters.
9) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – $654.3 Million
As we’ll get to later on this list, the Skywalker Saga’s sequel trilogy started off with a bang, but ended on a much softer note. That’s not just a reference to The Rise of Skywalker‘s disappointing critical reception; the sentiment can just as easily be applied to the film’s commercial performance. Though The Rise of Skywalker was one of the premier releases of the 2019 holiday season (sharing center stage with Jumanji: The Next Level), the mixed reviews and divided fan base prevented the film from reaching its full box office potential. In a vacuum, $654.3 million isn’t anything to sneeze at, but it’s still a letdown by Star Wars’ lofty standards.
8) Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith – $673.6 Million
Revenge of the Sith didn’t have a Spider-Man movie to contend with when it premiered in May 2005, so the prequel trilogy finale was able to easily surpass its direct predecessor. It didn’t come close to topping The Phantom Menace, but this was still an appropriate swan song for the galaxy far, far away on the big screen (for the time, anyway). Revenge of the Sith was marketed as the final Star Wars movie, making it one of the year’s biggest cinematic events. It was 2005’s highest-grossing film domestically (beating Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by a considerable margin), and that “event” status clearly played a role in enticing people to the theater.
7) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – $719.9 Million
When Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, the original idea was to turn Star Wars into another Marvel Cinematic Universe with annual theatrical releases. In the mid-to-late 2010s, Lucasfilm alternated between Skywalker Saga installments and standalone spinoffs. Rogue One was the first spinoff out of the gate, and everyone was curious to see how it would fare at the box office — especially after months of reports detailing extensive reshoots. Despite the troubled production, Rogue One proved to be quite successful, demonstrating that the Star Wars universe could expand beyond the Skywalker story. The enthusiastic word of mouth hailing it as one of the best Star Wars movies ever gave it a nice boost at the box office.
6) Star Wars: The Last Jedi – $824.8 Million
Nearly a decade after its release, Star Wars: The Last Jedi continues to inspire passionate debates within the fandom, but there’s no denying that it’s the second-highest-grossing Star Wars movie of the Disney era. Coming off the highs of The Force Awakens and Rogue One, viewers were excited to see the Skywalker Saga continue with the next installment of the sequel trilogy — especially since Luke Skywalker was set to play a critical role. After getting off to a strong start, The Last Jedi maintained healthy box office legs throughout its run, an impressive feat considering the divided responses. Sometimes, mixed opinions can hurt a movie commercially, but that didn’t happen here.
5) Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – $924.5 Million
It’s impossible to overstate how excited people were for The Phantom Menace. There’s a strong case to be made that it was the most anticipated film of all time. Several years after the original trilogy concluded, George Lucas was returning to his legendary franchise to take fans back to where the story began, telling the story of how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. Fans everywhere couldn’t wait to secure their tickets, and the unprecedented levels of hype undoubtedly fueled an incredibly strong box office run. Even after initial reactions were mixed, moviegoers kept going out to see The Phantom Menace, adding to its already high total.
4) Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – $965.8 Million
Adjusting the Star Wars box office numbers for inflation really illustrates how massive the original trilogy was. Return of the Jedi may not have been able to top its two direct predecessors, but it still cracks the Mt. Rushmore of the franchise’s biggest hits. When the film was released back in 1983, audiences had been waiting for years to see The Empire Strikes Back‘s cliffhanger ending resolved, and this was the first time a Star Wars movie was billed as the finale. Viewers were excited to see how the story would end, which lead to sizable box office receipts.
3) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – $1.021 Billion
Per Finance Buzz, the Star Wars franchise as a whole has grossed over $9.9 billion domestically when you adjust all the numbers for inflation. The final three films on our list account for more than $4 billion of that total all on their own. After the original Star Wars became a cultural phenomenon, it wasn’t any surprise to see the sequel be a major hit in its own right. Moviegoers of all ages were excited to get more Star Wars and see the vast galaxy expand for the first time. No other movie in 1980 was more anticipated, and the box office figures back that up.
2) Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $1.292 Billion
If any movie in history has a case for being more anticipated than The Phantom Menace, it’s arguably The Force Awakens. A decade after everyone assumed the Star Wars saga was over, the beloved franchise made its triumphant return, ushering in a new era that blended returning veterans with fresh faces and appealed to multiple generations. Bolstered by a fantastic marketing campaign, The Force Awakens was a juggernaut unlike anything we had seen or have seen since. Its unadjusted domestic total of $936.6 million is a record that will likely never be broken. Even more impressive is the fact that it’s only received one domestic theatrical release. All of the original trilogy installments received multiple re-releases, adding more context to The Force Awakens‘ remarkable run.
1) Star Wars: A New Hope – $2.000 Billion
The film that started it all still reigns supreme at the box office all these years later. After Jaws introduced the concept of the summer blockbuster, Star Wars took the idea to the next level by delivering a thrilling cinematic experience that had to be seen to be believed. Unsuspecting audiences in 1977 weren’t sure what they were getting into when they sat down to see Star Wars, and what they got was a movie that completely revolutionized the industry with groundbreaking visual effects, exciting action, and memorable characters. There’s a reason why the film still resonates after all this time, and A New Hope‘s totals will only grow when it returns to theaters in 2027 to commemorate the 50th anniversary.
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