That the acclaimed Rogue One earned more domestically than Rise of Skywalker may not come as a surprise now. However, if we step back to the expectations surrounding their releases, we would think that the third sequel would have outperformed the spinoff movie. The numbers confirm that the opposite is true.
The Spin-Off Wins Out Domestically
Rogue One was a spinoff “Star Wars Story” movie, but it bested the final installment of the Skywalker saga domestically. Rogue One earned over $532 million with its initial release. The Rise of Skywalker pulled in just over $515 million, less than The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens.
The domestic earnings were close between the two films, but we would have expected the conclusion to the sequels to have earned more. If we include international revenue, Rise did win out, earning $1.74 billion combined compared with Rogue at $1.56 billion.
Yet, Rogue added to its revenue stream with its 2022 release, earning $2.6 million worldwide. In comparison, Rise only garnered a paltry $5,781. That’s right, less than $6K for the last sequel.
In retrospect, perhaps these returns are not that surprising. As fans know by now, the third sequel confronted mixed reviews at best and outright hostility at worst. This range of opinions was based on a general audience reception that considered Rise to be an overall satisfying conclusion to the saga, with many fans intensely disagreeing.
As this article captures, “the shockingly high Rotten Tomatoes audience score” ran counter to fans who disagreed with Palpatine’s revival, underdeveloped characters, and a shaky story, among other items. The discrepancy between the 86% audience score and the 58% critical score coincides with the lower-than-expected numbers.
As one fan wrote here, “Rogue One was a much better movie on every level,” which helps explain its earnings. In contrast, many felt that Rise was “a rushed, sloppy, incoherent mess,” which coincides with its deflated numbers domestically.
On that note, at least one article claimed that Rogue One was better than all of the prequels combined. Some of the logic for this argument applies to explaining how this spinoff surpassed Rise. Namely, Rogue didn’t need to follow “the rules” of the prequels or sequels, successfully resonating with A New Hope, and had a compelling story.
Fun Number Facts About Both Movies
Rogue One appeared to be on that track right away, earning $155 million in the opening weekend. Yet, Rise of Skywalker earned more than the spinoff at $177 million in its first weekend. Then again, Rise’s opening numbers were below those of The Force Awakens and Last Jedi.
Despite a “very troubled production,” Rogue One capped off a very profitable year for Disney. This spinoff became the fourth billion-dollar-grossing film in 2016, following Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia, and Finding Dory. The movie joined the “billion-dollar movie club” alongside The Phantom Menace and Force Awakens.
In comparison, Rise made a solid profit. Based on the budget and production costs, the third sequel may have cleared $281 million (outside of marketing and distribution). However, Rogue One appears to have won out here too, with an estimated profit of $415 million.
For those interested in more numbers, Forbes wrote an article about how Rise of Skywalker managed to come under its adjusted $485 million production budget. That would be an attribute. Then again, according to this assessment, the movie would have also made a profit of $52.9 million, a sign of underwhelming results.
A Spinoff Movie and Rise of Skywalker
That a spinoff movie could, by the numbers, edge out a full-scale production is surprising. Given that Rise of Skywalker was supposed to be the final triumph of the Skywalker saga, we may be even more surprised. Yet, given the time to reflect on the two movies, we can piece together why Rogue One managed to prevail over Rise.