You’ll Never Believe The Lowest-Grossing Skywalker Saga Movies

The Force is indeed still strong with Star Wars on the big screen. Even with six years of no new theatrical Star Wars movies, not to mention six years of constant Disney+ programming set in that galaxy far, far away, audiences still showed up in droves for Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith’s 20th anniversary re-release. Grossing over $25 million domestically alone in its first three days of release, Sith’s re-release reflected the enduring appeal of Star Wars on the big screen. There’s truly no other franchise that benefits from the grand confines of theatrical cinema quite like this space opera saga.

However, that doesn’t mean every single Star Wars movie has been as big as The Force Awakens or Revenge of the Sith at the domestic box office. After all, Solo: A Star Wars Story was a major money-loser back in 2018. However, the two lowest-grossing domestic releases in the nine-film Skywalker Saga may surprise Star Wars fans. It’s easy to forget that two of the middle chapters in this expansive mythos never quite reached the box office heights of their brethren.

Skywalker Saga’s Lowest-Grossing Entries (Domestically)

At the North American box office, the two lowest-grossing entries in The Skywalker Saga are The Empire Strikes Back ($291.73 million) and Attack of the Clones ($310.67 million). They’re the only Skywalker Saga entries to gross under $316 million in North America, while these two and Return of the Jedi are the only Skywalker Saga installments that grossed under $400+ million domestically. Empire Strikes Back is one of only two live-action Star Wars movies of any kind (alongside Solo) to not clear $300+ million domestically.

Let’s Put It Into Perspective

That’s not a reflection of Empire Strikes Back being a bomb, though. In fact, its original $209.39 million domestic haul from just its 1980s theatrical run was only $98 million behind the once-in-a-generation box office run of A New Hope in its initial theatrical release. Plus, at the time, it appears that it was only behind A New Hope and Jaws in terms of domestic box office numbers. Its last place ranking is simply because of lower ticket prices circa 1980, and its subsequent re-releases in modern times weren’t as lucrative as ones for A New Hope or Revenge of the Sith.

Attack of the Clones, meanwhile, had a more worrisome box office trajectory, though it still proved a profitable and mighty enterprise. Attack of the Clones marked the first time in history that a Star Wars movie didn’t utterly dominate all other movies in a given summer, as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man was the must-see summer 2002 feature rather than the second Prequel Trilogy installment. Over the summer of 2002, Clones grossed $302.19 million. $8.48 million from a November 2002 IMAX re-release brought it up to just over $310 million.

[RELATED: Why Are Theatrical Re-Releases Making a Comeback?]

The Phantom Menace‘s box office haul has had two major theatrical re-releases domestically that have added $56.4 million to its domestic box office haul. Revenge of the Sith, meanwhile, could hit $50+ million in its 20th anniversary re-release. Attack of the Clones, meanwhile, is the only one of the original six Star Wars films to never receive a proper domestic theatrical re-release. With all these factors at play, it’s no wonder Attack of the Clones joined The Empire Strikes Back as the two lowest-grossing Skywalker Saga films domestically.

Why Else Did Clones and Empire Have Lower Domestic Grosses?

Empire and Clones occupying lower places on the Skywalker Saga domestic box office totem pole can also be chalked up to the respective tones of these features. Being darker and talkier entries in this saga, the two films might not have seemed as immediately perfect for rewatches as lighter Star Wars entries. This problem especially hindered Clones, which had to contend with lighter summer 2002 tentpoles like Scooby-Doo and Spider-Man.

Being middle chapters in greater trilogies, both titles likely lacked the concluding catharsis of Sith and Jedi or the accessible sense of discovery in Phantom Menace and New Hope. Being bridge stories in two distinctly different eras of Star Wars storytelling didn’t inspire as much radiant audience word-of-mouth as other Skywalker Saga projects. Plus, both productions were following up on immense cultural events whose box office success could never be replicated. How could Attack of the Clones, for instance, hope to mimic the fervor surrounding the first Star Wars movie in 16 years?

Thus, the box office standings of The Empire Strikes Back and Attack of the Clones in The Skywalker Saga were basically assured from the get-go. Of course, both projects still turned a pretty penny, with The Empire Strikes Back proving so lucrative that it stands as the 13th biggest movie in history domestically when adjusted for inflation. If these two titles are among the lowest-grossing Star Wars movies at the North American box office, then this franchise’s financial track record really is tremendously impressive. It’s just hilarious that two films often considered the best and worst of the franchise (respectively) are keeping this kind of company.

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and The Empire Strikes Back are both streaming on Disney+.