Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker forces its way past $500 million milestone

Love it or hate it, LucasFilms' STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER has officially surpassed the $500 million mark after just 8 days at the box office, with $516.8 million worldwide to date. The already-divisive final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, as directed by J.J. Abrams, managed to snag $32 million in domestic ticket sales on Christmas Day, making The Rise of Skywalker the second best Christmas Day earner behind STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. As of this moment, TROS has banked a total of $258.9 million in domestic credits.

When stacked against previous chapters of the Star Wars film franchise, STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER has already forced its way past the worldwide totals for 1983’s RETURN OF THE JEDI and 2018’s SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY. Furthermore, the ninth installment of the Skywalker Saga should surpass 1980’s THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and 2002’s ATTACK OF THE CLONES by the start, if not the end, of this coming weekend.

In tracking the recent Star Wars discourse online, it would appear as if many fans are going back to the theater for second and third viewings of TROS, and this includes people who claim that the film is "an afront to the entire Skywalker Saga." Could it be that these angry individuals secretly adore the film, or are they simply returning to the scene of the crime for yet another look at the corpse, as it were? Regardless of their motivations, they're still serving up their delicious dollars, and you can bet that Disney and LucasFilms are eating them up with a fork and knife. Om nom nom.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Kelly Marie Tran, Naomi Ackie, Keri Russell, Billie Lourd, Richard E. Grant, and Joonas Suotamo, in addition to franchise veterans Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, and Ian McDiarmid.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is playing in theaters all across the galaxy right now.