'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' releases today, analysts wonder if it will be top-earner for franchise
Star Wars
The movie will be releasing today in theatres
The latest instalment, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"is out Friday and there are reports that the iconic franchise's latest offering could even surpass the previous release in 2015.
It's predecessor "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"came out in 2015 and grossed millions at the box office. It even created a record for the biggestdomestic opening weekendof $247 million. The movie went on to collect more than $2 billion at theatres worldwide, including a record $936 million domestically.
The tracking estimates for the new Star Wars movie expect an opening weekend haul of up to$215 million. The estimates crunch up to$440 million in collections worldwide. This would be lesser than The Force awakensbut establish it as the only fourth movie ever to top the$200-million mark for a domestic opening weekend.
Industry insiders feel that the actual numbers depend on the grand opening of the movie -- like whether "The Last Jedi"would reach the$2 billion mark or not as its future income depends on the opening.
The Last Jedi also has Disney’s live-action adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast"($1.26 billion globally) in its sights as it looks to become the highest-grossing movie of 2017.
Some pictures from the movie's world premiere: