“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is eyeing an opening weekend in the $135 million to $140 million range, estimates say.
The “Star Wars” prequel starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna and Forest Whitaker debuted to $29 million at the Thursday previews and is expected to gross somewhere in the high $60 million range by the end of the day Friday.
Bad weather in various parts of the country is expected to be a deciding factor in how much the movie should earn this weekend, with original estimates from the studio having been in the $120 million to $150 million range.
Counting international estimates, the highly anticipated tentpole is looking to earn up to $300 million globally this weekend — as it rolls out in all major territories abroad, except for China and South Korea.
It was made for a reported $200 million (not counting marketing costs) and will play in more than 4,100 theaters in the U.S. and Canada — which includes roughly 400 IMAX screens, and more than 500 Premium Large Format screens.
“Rogue One” stars Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen and Riz Ahmed. It takes place between the prequel and original trilogies, and depicts Erso’s efforts to steal the plans for the Death Star, the ultimate weapon of the Galactic Empire, which has terrorized the galaxy far, far away since the first “Star Wars” in 1977.