The Last Jedihas helped Disney cross an important milestone. Disney purchased all of Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.06 billion. It was a hefty price, but an investment that was sure to pay off over time. While there are many factors to consider, that time is now. With the box office fromThe Last Jedi, the Disney eraStar Warsmovies have already grossed more at the box office than the studio paid to purchase Lucasfilm.
With the latest numbers accounted for asStar Wars: The Last Jediheads into its third weekend at the box office, theDisney produced Star Warsmovies, which also includeStar Wars: The Force AwakensandRogue One: A Star Wars Story, have made $4.07 billion at the box office. With that in mind,The Last Jedistill has a long way to go, but this serves as a good reminder that we’ve really only just begun. Disney is going to be making money fromStar Warsuntil long after we’re all gone.
Star Wars: The Force Awakensremains the highest-earner by far, bringing in $2.06 billion worldwide, with $936 million coming domestically alone.Rogue One: A Star Wars Storybrought in $1.056 billion and, considering it was a standalone with almost no recognizable characters in it, that’s pretty amazing. So far,Star Wars: The Last Jedihas managed just shy of $940 million and should cross the $1 billion mark very soon.
This doesn’t mean that the box office alone has paid back the investment. For one, Disney doesn’t get every penny of the box office back. Some stays with foreign markets and distributors get their cut. This also doesn’t take into account production budgets and marketing, which are very high forStar Warsmovies. That said, this number also doesn’t take into account the many other revenue streams that come withStar Wars. Merchandise, Blu-ray and DVD sales, things of that nature, plus, TV shows likeStar Wars Rebels.
There are also manyrevenue streams from Star Warsthat Disney has yet to capitalize on. The originalStar Warsmovies haven’t been re-released in theaters since the acquisition of Lucasfilm, which would bring in plenty of money. Not to mention the live-actionStar WarsTV series they’re reportedly developing for their upcoming streaming service. Plus, there’sStar Wars 9,Solo: A Star Wars Storyand Rian Johnson’s newStar Warstrilogy being developed.
Lucasfilm, up until very recently, wasDisney’s most flashy acquisition. The Mouse House has also purchased Pixar, Marvel and, very recently, most of21st Century Foxin a landmark $52 billion deal. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, this is all thanks to Disney CEO Bob Iger, who has made the studio arguably the most dominant that Hollywood has ever seen. WithStar Warshaving pretty much already paid for itself, that is going to be a cash cow that other studios can only dream of.
