'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Becomes the Highest Grossing Film of 2017

By Vianne Ilagan, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, January 02, 2018

After just three weeks of being in theaters, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" has now topped $1 billion in global revenue, making it the highest grossing film of 2017. On New Year's weekend, the film was able to become the fourth entry in the "Star Wars" franchise to reach the mark and unseat "Beauty and the Beast" as 2017's top grosser.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is the eighth installment in Walt Disney's "Star Wars" saga. Over the weekend, the film earned an estimated $120.4 million at the global box office, bringing its global revenue to at least $1.04 billion. Out of its total global revenue last weekend, $52.4 million was in North America, where its haul sits at $517.1 million as of this writing. The film's weekend haul dropped the live-action adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast" into second place at the box office this 2017.

Aside from being the highest grossing film of 2017, the film is also the second-biggest domestic opening of all time with its $220 million revenue on its opening weekend, just behind "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." It is also the eighth largest domestic release of all time, just $15 million behind the seventh placer, "Star Wars: Rogue One."

In the "Star Wars" franchise, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is the third highest grossing film ever, behind "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and "Star Wars: Rogue One." However, its pace at the box office is not seen to slow down anytime soon, so it won't be surprising if the film breaks new records in the coming weeks.

On Jan. 5, the film will open in China, the second biggest market in the world. If the film becomes just as successful in China, projections are it might even climb up the all-time box office list to become one of the five highest-grossing films of all time.