Much to the surprise of no one, Disney’s historic acquisition of Lucasfilm (AKA the Deal of the Century) is proving to be a shrewd investment.
Five years and three films later, the rebooted Star Wars series – namely The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi – has collected more than $4.06 billion at the worldwide box office, which is the same amount Disney paid for those lucrative film rights back in 2012.
This news comes just as Star Wars: The Last Jedi nears $940 million, and we understand Rian Johnson’s follow-up is aiming for a lifetime gross in the region of $1.6 billion – putting it smack bang in the middle of The Force Awakens ($2.06 billion) and Rogue One ($1.05 billion). Toss all of this together and you get a figure big enough to cover that $4 billion price tag initially slapped on Lucasfilm’s assets, and Disney’s profits will only continue to balloon from here on out.
Of course, this doesn’t account for each film’s marketing and distribution costs, while the Mouse House has also opened up separate streams of revenue thanks to Star Wars merchandise and theme park attractions. Still, the acquisition of Lucasfilm has propelled Disney toward becoming the most successful film studio, well, ever, and it certainly bodes well for the $52.4 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets, which will, in time, lead to the X-Men et al. being drafted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It’s an exciting time for anyone with even a passing interest in franchise filmmaking, and with Rian Johnson piloting a brand new Star Wars trilogy, Lucasfilm’s far-away galaxy will only continue to grow and expand beyond the release of Episode IX in two years’ time.
Closer to home, Solo: A Star Wars Story will trace the origins of the galaxy’s greatest smuggler on May 25th, 2018.
