Star Wars’ second installment in its latest trilogy, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, enjoyed an extremely successful opening at the international box office, scoring just slightly over $220 million dollars, and it looks like the movie is continuing to rake in the cash. First released on December the 15th, the film is in its twelfth day in theaters. As of now, it has grossed $843 million in its total across the globe, an amount which will obviously continue to grow.
However, despite positive reviews from audience and critics, the film has earned an extremely polarizing reaction from fans, a divide which is perfectly illustrated on the popular movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. Though critics have given The Last Jedi an exceptionally high score at 91%, the audience rating is a whole thirty-nine points lower, bestowing a failing grade of 52% upon the movie. Though many reasons have been flying around for this massive gulf in enjoyment, such as the side-lining of John Boyega’s much-beloved character Finn; plot holes in correspondence to the destruction of the Jedi temple and the Knights of Ren as well as Rey’s parentage; and the characterization of Luke Skywalker, it remains to be seen whether or not a film as big as The Last Jedi even needs positive audience reception across the board to succeed. Like The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi was also number one at the box office on its opening weekend. Eventually The Force Awakens achieved a mind-boggling worldwide total of over two billion dollars, which would be hard competition for any movie, no matter its overall popularity.
Solo: A Star Wars Story will be the next movie for the franchise, coming out in only a few months on May 25, 2018.