The latest trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker finally debuted last night, continuing to build the hype for the ninth and final installment in the original saga ahead of the movie’s December release date. In a smart marketing move, the pre-sale tickets for J.J. Abrams’ return to the franchise also went on sale immediately following the reveal of the new footage, and the decision looks to have paid off handsomely as The Rise of Skywalker has smashed the first-hour sales record.
Anticipation for the movie hasn’t seemed to be as high as usual, perhaps as a reaction to fans being disappointed with recent Star Wars entries like The Last Jedi and Solo, but the sci-fi series is still one of the most popular brands in the entire entertainment industry, and it looks like audiences will be turning out in their droves to see the conclusion to the story started by George Lucas in 1977.
Unsurprisingly, the previous first-hour sales record was set by Avengers: Endgame, which would go on to score the biggest opening weekend of all-time after launching to $357.1 million domestically and over $1 billion globally in just three days of release. However, Deadline reports that The Rise of Skywalker’s first-hour sales are currently pacing a massive 45% ahead of Endgame at this point, which indicates another box office-crushing debut for both Disney and the Star Wars franchise.
As we all know, Avengers: Endgame would go on to become the highest-grossing movie ever made, a record that many saw as impossible to beat. While there’s no guarantee that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker can even come close to the $2.8 billion figure amassed by the conclusion to the Infinity Saga, at this point it looks set to be yet another box office juggernaut for Disney in 2019, tightening the studio’s stranglehold on the industry.