6 lessons from the box-office success of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’
It delighted; it polarized; it made a bucket full of money. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” the 10th “Star Wars” theatrical film overall and second in the revived space-opera trilogy, opened to $220 million domestically in its first weekend, the second-biggest opening of all time not adjusting for inflation, behind only another “Star Wars” movie.
Director Rian Johnson’s action adventure will certainly take the 2017 domestic box-office top spot when all is said and done. But the movie won’t get there simply on name recognition. Its haul springs from a set of complex production and marketing calculations. Here are six lessons to be drawn from how “The Last Jedi” was made, how it performed and how it generated reactions.
Keep it going
The new “Star Wars” was a test of franchise movie strategy — do spinoffs hurt or help when it comes to sequels? More specifically, would “The Last Jedi” have done worse, better or the same had “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” not come out a year ago at this time?
The argument for spinoffs (beyond squeezing more movies out of a brand) is simple: It keeps a universe in the collective consciousness rather than hoping that moviegoers remember it after a multiyear layoff.
The counterargument is nearly as simple: Spinoffs create saturation, and saturation risks fatigue. For now, it hasn’t. Yet whether the same can be said for installments to come after “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which comes out in May, remains to be seen.
So, is there sequel-itis?
“‘The Last Jedi’ opened a mere 11 percent behind ‘The Force Awakens’ record-shattering domestic launch of $247.9 mil-