‘The Rise of Skywalker’ Crosses $1 Billion at the Global Box Office
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is officially the latest Disney movie to cross the $1 billion mark at box offices worldwide. Episode IX officially joined the billion dollar club Tuesday, January 14. It’s Disney’s seventh picture of 2019 to do so, breaking the record for the most billion-dollar movies to come from one studio in a single calendar year.
Despite The Rise of Skywalker’s astronomical earnings, it still falls behind 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace as well as The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. For context, The Rise of Skywalker took 28 days to reach $1 billion, while The Force Awakens took 12 days and The Last Jedi took 19 days. It’s still an incredible accomplishment for a movie to make a billion dollars in less than a month, but in Star Wars time, that success is relative.
Teaming up with Lucasfilm and Marvel certainly bolstered Disney as it skyrocketed to record-breaking heights. But even without The Rise of Skywalker, Captain Marvel, and Avengers: Endgame, Disney still would have accomplished a box office first with four $1 billion movies in 2019. The Lion King, Aladdin, Toy Story 4, and Frozen II all hit that billion dollar mark, with Frozen II becoming the highest grossing animated movie of all time. It will be unlikely that Disney surpasses their own record in 2020, with both Avengers and Star Wars storylines wrapping up pretty neatly in their respective finales. Then again, it’s Disney — we really have no idea just what they’re capable of.
Gallery — Our Favorite Easter Eggs in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: