PT Revenge of the Sith Turns 20!

How much did the special edition theatrical run make?

 

So it’s apparently $25 million domestically in the U.S. It beat out Empire Strikes Back’s opening weekend in 1997 which was $22 million.

So it actually puts it as the third highest opening re-release behind A New Hope’s in 1997 and The Lion King 3D in 2011.

However, this is all contained to opening weekend money. Sith is still behind Empire globally which was around $67 million.

Still potential to beat it out since it seems to be in theaters till next Thursday. And that will mean Sith is also reaching the $900 million mark total

 

Even better than it was 20 years ago, if that's possible. Thank you George and Hayden (and everyone else...)

 

GL always told skeptics that they needed to trust him and that he knew how make these films in such a way that they had a special appeal to young people. This weekend proves him right.

To give you an idea just how good ROTS's Box Office performance was, it earned more in 3 days than Avatar's re-release did in 3 weeks ($24.7 million), and that re-release had going for it the hype associated with Avatar 2 coming out in a couple months.

Also, in this case, theaters couldn't even expand ROTS to many extra screens because it had so much competition this weekend (Sinners, Minecraft, The Accountant 2). Releasing ROTS 2 months ago would've likely brought in $30+ million.

A few re-release 1st weekend comps to put ROTS's weekend in perspective:

Jurassic Park (2013) $18.3 million ($25.2 adjusted for inflation)
Avatar (2022) $10.5 million
TPM 3-D (2012) $22.5 million ($31.1 adjusted)
TPM (2024) $8.7 million
LOTR 1 (2024) $2.5 million
LOTR 2 (2024) $1.9 million
LOTR 3 (2023) $1.2 million
LOTR 3 (2024) $1.8 million
Spider-Man 1 (2024) $.7 million
Spider-Man 2 (2024) $.8 million

The only re-releases to surpass it this century were The Lion King in 2011 at $29.2 million ($41.2 million adjusted) and TPM in 2012 (if you factor in inflation), but those were special 3-D releases that were heavily promoted, and the novelty of the 3-D is part of why they brought in such big audiences.

That's why a prior non 3-D re-release of the Lion King in 2002 only grossed $1.8 million (or $3.2 mill. adj).

So, really this ROTS re-release was only outperformed by the re-releases of the OT, which were highly promoted (unlike this one), which had a special draw in that they had new CGI effects and new scenes, and which were highly anticipated because people had just learned that after 16 years a new Star Wars film would be released in 1999.

ROTS brought in $25.2 million with absolutely none that going for it.

GL always knew what he was doing!

 

Saw it third time. Big surprise was same theater but different screen - looked and sounded so much better!

my theater has it own two screens. I wanted to see it earlier so went to other. Picture seemed little brighter with more contrast. Which really helps in darkly lit scenes. This time sound was fully surrounding me from all sides. Other screen mainly coming from up front.

So worth the return. Also saw line out the door. Probably not all for this but saw a lot of Star Wars shirts!

 

It was huge, and I was there for each film the 1st week that they came out.

• ANH's 1st weekend was $35.9 million which translates to $72.2 million today adjusted for inflation.

• TESB's 1st weekend - $21.98 million or $44.1 million adjusted.

• ROTJ's 1st weekend - $16.3 million or $32.6 adjusted.

But the timing of these re-releases is part of what makes them work. ROTJ's 2023 re-release only brought in $7.3 million.

For the entire domestic runs of their re-releases these are their totals:

• ANH Special Edition (1997) grossed $138 million or $278 million adjusted for inflation (about as much as an average MCU film domestically for a re-release. lol. That's insane).

• TESB SE (1997) grossed $68 million ($135 million adjusted)

• ROTJ SE (1997) grossed $45 million ($91 adjusted)

The special edition releases were huge. Just their domestic gross more than paid for the entire budget of TPM.

But again, it was a different situation. The pent-up anticipation for a new Star Wars films was sky high, so they rode on that. The re-releases were highly promoted.

Also, CGI was new, and it was still a huge draw for films. There had only been a few films with high quality CGI at that time -- Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, JP2, and Starship Troopers. So, seeing a CGI version of Star Wars was a big thing. Some people at that time were actually disappointed that GL didn't replace more of the "old-fashioned" special effects with CGI.

So, in addition to Star Wars being a huge part of the childhoods of that generation of kids with no real competition (unlike PT), the Special Editions were perfectly timed and suited to bring in big audiences.

 

Got tickets to see it Monday and Wednesday.

 

Seeing it again Tuesday!


“Once more the Sith will RUUULLEE the box office! And we shall have….popcorn”

 

The ROTJ re-release was a shambles. In the UK it wasn't in every chain nationwide, just a few select cinemas around the country. So there were no showings by me that I could get to. If that was replicated around the world then its no wonder it did so poorly. A total contrast to the Empire 40th release during covid, TPM 25th anniversary release last year and ROTS 20th anniversary release this week - all had more more widespread releases.

 

I probably will too....for my theater it appears wednesday is the last day to see ROTS as they are using those screens thursday onwards for Marvels Thunderbolts. Might as well see it for discount tuesday! could be a pipedream but I would love if ROTS can squeak by $900 million worldwide when its run ends...

 

DEW IT

 

so...serious question, are the prices over there really cheap?

I mean, I get going to see it on the big screen again, it has been many years since itt has, but to go multiple times? since I'm guessing you both have copies, either physical or digital at home anyway.

Tell me, what am I missing here? put that extra few dollars in a charity collection box or something

 

Because they want to? What more of a reason do you need? I ended up seeing it again today, it was around $10. This theater was packed and much more lively, responding loudly to the famous meme lines. They also applauded at the end which was nice.

This kind of community experience isn't something you can just get at home. It also helps that I haven't really watched Star Wars in ages, I've fallen out of love with the series big time since Disney turned it into a content conveyer belt. But this re-release reminded me of why I loved Star Wars to begin with. It was much more fun than any solo viewing experience. I don't think I've popped out the blu-rays to watch the films since say 2019.

tbh, disney should try and do a re-release around this time every year or every few years for one of the six original films....its almost free money given how little advertisement they did this year....

For the disney films they could try a re-release in the fall/december since thats when the majority of them came out.

 

This.

ROTS is far from being my favourite SW film. But seeing it on the big screen this week reminded me that SW is a cinema experience first and foremost. No distractions, just a good 2 hours of enjoying the characters, effects, score where its meant to be seen.

 

ha, fair enough. And this answer could be about anything in life, was just curious if there was a specific reason I was missing,

but like I said "because I want to" is as good as any

 

I hear meme culture ruined some Cinema experiences. Young fans laughed at Anakin slaughter of kids
A shame no showings in Norway here in Bergen

 

Source: https://www.starwars.com/news/hayden-christensen-revenge-of-the-sith-20



When Hayden Christensen received the call that he had first been cast as the pivotal Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, he walked into his living room with a look of disbelief. His roommate, who knew that he was waiting on the call, could tell by his smile that he had good news. Christensen proceeded to light up an imaginary lightsaber while his roommate put on the soundtrack to Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and the pair clashed their invisible swords, traipsing around the room with childlike joy.



While he can’t say for certain to what extent, Christensen knew from the jump that something as big as Star Wars would follow him for a long time no matter what. He recalls the shared hope of everyone involved in creating something that would last in the culture for a long time. Now, as Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith marks its 20th anniversary and returns to theaters for a limited time — proving the film’s lasting appeal with one of the biggest re-release opening weekends in history with an estimated $42.2 million in ticket sales worldwide — Christensen looks back fondly on his many memories playing the character.



“None of it has really faded yet for me,” he says. “I was a 19-year-old kid living out my wildest dreams as an actor — making Star Wars with George Lucas. I got to know and work with all these incredible people like Ewan [McGregor], Natalie [Portman], Sam Jackson, and Ian McDiarmid.”



Christensen recalls learning how to truly swing a lightsaber with fight choreographer Nick Gillard. The two became close friends getting into antics together, with both of them having apartments on Bondi Beach during shooting. “Once we realized that our balconies were within throwing distance of each other, we had an ongoing water balloon war. Every time you walked down onto your balcony, you had to have your guard up. Otherwise you might get hit in the face with a water balloon — so many great memories.”



After the initial outings as the character, well over a decade later, Christensen received yet another phone call about playing the Jedi Knight turned Sith Lord on screen. This time for 2022’s Obi-Wan series.






“It has really been a remarkable journey that I've had with this character,” he says. “It is very unusual to get to return to a character this many times and after such a large passage of time. In some ways, each time it's a little bit different. I feel even more connected to Anakin now than ever before. Just because I'm a little bit older and I've lived more, I can understand his struggles with more depth, perhaps.”





“Back when we were making the prequels, it was a great honor and a big challenge for me to step into this role. But I guess my focus was really on trying to bring to life Anakin's passion and his struggles, and of course, his eventual fall to the dark side,” he says. “When I got to come back to do Obi-Wan with Ewan, it was a much different experience mainly because I wasn't just playing Anakin, but now I was really playing Vader too, or rather Anakin within the timeline of Vader.



“That was really about trying to show how much change had taken place after years underneath the Darth Vader armor. There is a lot, but I think the emotional core is still the same, and Anakin is buried very deep down. He was never actually gone.”






Shortly after his return in Obi-Wan, Christensen found himself in a unique acting position again, getting to explore a relationship new to his version of the character in Ahsoka.



“Working with Dave Filoni was very meaningful to me. It helped broaden our understanding of the character, getting to see Anakin sort of at different points in the timeline,” he says. “[Dave Filoni] is someone I've admired for a while, and in a way, it's another one of those full circle moments for me because he was sort of George's protégé. To get to work with him and enjoy the benefit of his incredible understanding of this world and all of his insight into this character has been a remarkable experience from start to now.”



Christensen’s admiration for the visionaries behind Star Wars has a long history. And now, as he looks back on the past few decades there’s one night that stands out in his mind. He recalls going on a walk with George Lucas one evening during the filming of Revenge of the Sith. The pair spoke for a while before Lucas eventually offered the young Christensen some advice.

“George ended the conversation by saying to me, ‘Hayden, you can't change the world. It's not possible. All you can do is try to make your own world and then invite other people to be a part of it,’” he says. “It was one of the most profound things that anyone's ever said to me, and it has really informed the way I live my life.”





At Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025, it was confirmed that Christensen will return as Anakin again in Ahsoka Season 2, a testament to how the character’s impact on both the actor and the audience has been undeniable.



“The affection that people have for Anakin means a lot to me,” Christensen says. “Of course, it's a really nice thing, and I hope Jake Lloyd feels that too. [But], getting to play this character has been an incredible honor and a privilege. Getting to be a part of this amazing world that George created, hearing from all the fans over the years who have shared with me how much Star Wars means to them — I just want to say, on behalf of all of the fans that have come up to me, I want to thank George for making such an amazing world that is Star Wars, and then inviting us all to be a part of it.”

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As I've previously posted, some fans in the theater in Manville applauded when Ani switched on the 'saber. I shook my head and said to myself, "That's sick."

 

I have no idea what this is. But no one laughed at the showing I went to.

 

I just went to a reshowing last night. Still like I remember.

ROTS was my first SW movie, and Hayden's acting chops really do deserve a more nuanced look. When not saddled with Lucas...rather weak dialogue, he is actually very good.

Anyways, I'm glad to see that fans are appreciating him more.

 

I'm going today....

 

Just saw it on Sunday...A WONDERFUL and nostalgic experience! My kids also got to come along after all, as the seats next to me were still open-so they got to see it in theater for the first time! That was awesome.