Star Wars: The Last Jedi Hits $1 Billion in Box Office Collections Worldwide

Star Wars: The Last Jedi – the newest chapter in the long-running space saga – crossed $1 billion (about Rs. 6,385 crore) in global ticket sales over the New Year's Eve weekend, as per latest estimates.

According to box office revenue tracker Box Office Mojo, The Last Jedi climbed the significant milestone after pulling in $120.4 million (Rs. 768.8 crore) over the Friday-Sunday period, with $52.4 million (Rs. 334.5 crore) from the US and $68 million (Rs. 434 crore) internationally. Reports by individual country haven't been updated, but it had earned just over $2 million (Rs. 12.7 crore) in India as of last week.

That makes The Last Jedi the eighth highest-grossing film of all-time in the US – The Force Awakens leads the way, and Rogue One is seventh – and it's currently on the 24th position worldwide. As for films released in 2017, The Last Jedi is currently one of four that have grossed over a billion dollars. It's currently at third, behind The Fate of The Furious in second ($1.23 billion) and Beauty of the Beast in first ($1.26 billion).

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Is the Perfect Showcase of Rian Johnson's Talents

But it's yet to release in China (January 5), which has become a big earner for Hollywood blockbusters in the past few years. The Force Awakens, by example, grossed $124 million (Rs. 791.8 crore) in China over its lifetime. It's got a long way to go to catch up though, with the predecessor sitting pretty at $2 billion worldwide.

Though The Last Jedi has been received favourably by most critics – we called it a "brave step that lets the franchise evolve", and it's got a 91 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes – it's been the subject of vehement fan backlash, on account of the changes introduced by writer-director Rian Johnson, and the critical comments made by actor Mark Hamill.