Disney/LucasfilmRogue One: A Star Wars Story is poised to have one of the biggest opening weekends in history.
The film is expected to earn between $120 million to $150 million domestically this weekend. You can tack another $150 million to that when it opens worldwide in every major market, except China and South Korea, according to Variety.
The entertainment industry trade publication predicts that Rogue One will likely put up the second-largest December opening in history, behind The Force Awakens‘ $248 million debut December of 2015.
In spite of the lofty box office predictions for the film, Rogue One director Gareth Edwards thinks the real measure of its success will come 20 years from now, explaining, “If I walk down the street and some guy walks past me, or girl, and they’ve got Jyn, or K-2, or Chirrut or a u-wing or whatever on their t-shirt, I’ll be like, ‘Yes!'”
Most importantly, Edwards wants fans to have that same feeling they had after seeing their other favorite Star Wars films.
“[If] you sit and you watch and you slowly get pulled in and a bit more and more and more and more, and by the time it comes to those end credits and that classic music kicks in, I hope you’ll feel goosebumps all over you, he says. I hope, if we’ve done our job correctly, you’ll suddenly realize you were just like being five years old again.”
Rogue One, starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna and Forest Whitaker, opens nationwide Friday. Star Wars is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
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