'Sith' Wins Back 'Star Wars' Fans
As expected, "Star Wars: Episode III -- The Revenge of the Sith" shattered box office records in its opening days, cruising to the No. 1 spot in the weekly box office estimates, and more than doubling the amount of money earned by the rest of the weekend's top 10 movies combined.
The Early Show entertainment contributor and People Magazine Senior Editor Jess Cagle tells co-anchor Julie Chen "Sith" has earned $158 million since its opening Thursday, beating the previous record holder, "The Matrix Reloaded."
On its opening day alone, the movie earned $50 million, which beat the old opening day record holder, last year's "Spider-Man 2."
After a sluggish spring at the box office, theater owners are hoping "Sith" will jumpstart the season.
But to "Star Wars" fans who waited in line hours, even days, only one thing mattered: watching Darth Vader cross over to the dark side.
"It tied all of the movies together, which is something all of the fans were really worried about," observed "Star Wars" fan Brandon DeVito.
"It's just perfect. Really well done. I'm so impressed with George Lucas," raved "Star Wars" fan Stefani Ozier.
Which, notes Cagle, is exactly the kind of reaction Lucas was hoping to hear.
"Lucas did have a challenge ahead of him," Cagle explains. "He had to win back the fans, the ones who didn't like 'Phantom Menace,' the first movie in this trilogy, and who didn't even bother to see 'Attack of the Clones.' But he got them back, I think because word of mouth was so good. And he wraps everything up in this, which is sort of a very appealing prospect to a lot of people.
"I think, generally, moviegoers liked it. Of course, the real test is how it holds up next weekend.
"Some of the critics did take a few pot shots at it. They were pretty funny. However, despite the acting and writing, which are always the shortfalls in Lucas' films, I think critics generally were pretty kind to this one."
Cagle points out "Sith" is on track to challenge the biggest gross of any of the "Star Wars" movies, the $461 earned by the first "Star Wars."
What competition will "Sith" face?
This weekend, "The Longest Yard," an Adam Sandler comedy, opens, "and that's gonna go head-to-head for the young male audience," Cagle says. "The smartest marketing move was 'Madagascar,' an animated movie, opening this weekend. All those 6-year-olds who weren't allowed to go see 'Revenge of the Sith' can go see that one."
For adults, "Cinderella Man" is coming out. But, adds Cagle, the first movie that's really going to go head-to-head in the blockbuster sweepstakes will be "Batman" in June.
Last weekend's box office champ, "Monster-in-Law," which marked Jane Fonda's return to the big screen as Jennifer Lopez's villainous prospective mother-in-law, slipped to a distant second with $14.4 million, a 38 percent drop. The Will Ferrell soccer comedy "Kicking & Screaming" took in $10.5 million.
The estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.:
- "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," $108.5
Million - "Monster-in-Law," $14.4 million
- "Kicking & Screaming," $10.5 million
- "Crash," $5.5 million
- "Unleashed," $3.8 million
- "Kingdom of Heaven," $3.4 million
- "House of Wax," $3.2 million
- "The Interpreter," $2.8 million
- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," $2 million
- "Mindhunters," $909,049