Star Wars: The Last Jedi blasting towards $800 million at the box office

Star Wars: The Last Jedi might have taken a dip at the box office in its second weekend in theaters, but the Christmas break confirmed Star Wars fatigue isn’t a thing just yet.

According to estimates from Walt Disney, Episode VIII from director Rian Johnson has grossed $791.6 million worldwide to date. The film earned approximately $27.5 million on Christmas Day from North American theaters with $14.8 million more hailing from its international release.

By Tuesday’s end, the film will have surpassed $800 million worldwide.

While this may invite comparison to The Force Awakens, the rollout for both films had a major difference. The second Monday in theaters for The Last Jedi was Christmas Day, while the second Monday for The Force Awakens was coming off of Christmas weekend in 2015.

The Last Jedi‘s current domestic total (at $395.6 million) is also significant — especially when you consider an alt-right group has taken credit for the film’s plummeting audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. In the U.S. Jedi is now the third highest-grossing film of 2017, just behind Wonder Woman (in second) and Beauty and the Beast. All three films flaunt stories propelled by female leads.

For all the fans calling for The Last Jedi to be removed from Star Wars canon, it seems you’re shouting into the galactic void.

The Last Jedi saw the return of Rey (Daisy Ridley) as she trained in the Jedi arts with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Finn (John Boyega) as he awoke from his coma to help fight The First Order, and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) — who, as he put it, hopped in an X-Wing and blew stuff up.

Johnson responded to some of the fan backlash that sparked over social media. “The goal is never to divide or make people upset, but I do think the conversations that are happening were going to have to happen at some point if sw is going to grow, move forward, and stay vital,” he tweeted.

Despite criticisms, many film reviewers praised The Last Jedi as “the best since” Empire Strikes Back.

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