Star Wars Episode III debut breaks four box office records

May 24, 2005



George Lucas' final installment of the prequel Star Wars trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, opened in theaters in 105 countries around the world on May 19. According to William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Claudia Puig of USA Today, Episode III may be the best of the Star Wars series. James Berardinelli of ReelViews claimed that Episode III is, "the best installment in the Star Wars series since 1980's The Empire Strikes Back." However, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone begs to differ. Travers states that Lucas' ability to turn, "flesh-and-blood actors into cardboard cutouts," makes Lucas' movie unworthy of its heralded title of best yet.

In its opening weekend, Revenge of the Sith earned a total, counting from Thursday, May 19 to Sunday, May 22, USD $158,449,700 in the domestic United States box office, $145,500,000 internationally, for a total of $303,949,700 worldwide. With this opening, Star Wars Episode III broke four records including single day gross, opening day gross, three-day gross, and four-day gross.