'Star Wars: Episode IX' Box Office Looks Brighter After Competitors Change Release Dates

Star Wars: Episode IX won't hit theaters for more than a year, so it's too early to give concrete projections about how financially successful the film will be, yet other studios shifting their release dates bodes well for the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga.

Episode IX was originally slated to hit theaters on December 20, 2019, though Lucasfilm's official announcement that production had begun backed off to merely state "December 2019." Forbes notes that The Terminator, Wonder Woman 1984, and Bond 25 have all moved their release dates, which were all aiming to close out the year with a big bang at the box office.

None of these films would have signified direct competition with Episode IX, though, depending on their successes, they could have compromised the Star Wars film. The Terminator was originally slated to open on November 15, 2019, but has moved forward and will land on November 1st. Wonder Woman 1984 was originally slated to open on November 1st, but was pushed back to June 5, 2020. Bond 25 was also slated to open early November, 2019, and has been pushed back to February 14, 2020.

It's too early to determine just how likely it would be that any of these films could have made a dent on Episode IX's box office, but the fact that they've all now cleared the way for the film only makes its domination of end of the year box office a certainty.

Just how successful the latest film is, however, is still a mystery.

For the better part of 40 years, fans could expect Star Wars films to be a success at the box office, including the original films, prequels, and new sequels. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is one of the most successful films of all time, taking in more than $2 billion worldwide, while Star Wars: The Last Jedi scored an impressive $1.3 billion. Even Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which focused on all-new characters, took in more than $1 billion worldwide.

Unfortunately, this year's Solo: A Star Wars Story failed to crack $400 million worldwide, which comes as a big disappointment to Lucasfilm. There's no one definite factor that caused Solo to underperform, with a number of factors all coming together to chip away at its potential.

When it is released, Episode IX will be the first Star Wars film to hit theaters in more than 18 months, which should be long enough to build necessary excitement, and will also be the last chapter in the saga that kicked off 40 years ago, which will surely help the film pull in an impressive take.

Stay tuned for details on Star Wars: Episode IX.

Do you think Episode IX could become more successful than The Force Awakens? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

[H/T Forbes]