Having earned over $10 billion at the box office, the Star Wars movie franchise is the third-highest grossing in the world, surpassed only by Spider-Man and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The enduring popularity of the space opera saga was recently showcased with the release of a 12th instalment, The Mandalorian and Grogu, but where does it rank among the biggest Star Wars money makers?
We've taken the worldwide box office gross for every movie in the series and adjusted it for inflation to give you an idea of what each one made in today's money. Read on to find out where your favourite ranks and discover which Star Wars movie is the highest-grossing of all time.
All dollar amounts in US dollars
The first Star Wars movie to hit cinemas in eight years, The Mandalorian and Grogu picked up the baton of the Disney+ favourite, with the studio prioritising a feature-length outing over a fourth season of the show. While its production budget was much lower than some of the more recent Star Wars films, at $165 million, it still needed a strong performance to break even.
Despite an opening weekend of $100 million, the movie took the unwanted crown of the lowest opening for a live-action Star Wars film ever. Even worse, in its second week, it was outperformed by low-budget viral sensations Backrooms and Obsessions. In total, it grossed a disappointing $345 million (£257m).
With Disney and Lucasfilm powering it, it seemed a foregone conclusion that a Han Solo spin-off story would be a hit. On the contrary, 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story became the first Star Wars flop, grossing just $393 million at the global box office. That's $516 million (£380m) in today's money.
The ill-fated flick was plagued with problems from the start, with directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller fired and replaced by acclaimed director Ron Howard. But this wasn't enough to save the movie...
Factoring in its $275 million production budget and astronomical marketing costs, the film reportedly lost at least $100 million.
Released in 2002, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones grossed $656 million at the global box office. That’s over $1.2 billion (£884m) in today’s money. Yet, despite making an incredible amount of cash, the film is the third-lowest-grossing in the franchise.
Star Wars fans were famously outraged when the film’s predecessor, 1999’s The Phantom Menace, was released, with the script and acting performances attracting much criticism. It appears the film left a lasting bitter taste, with many fans opting to skip Attack of the Clones in the cinema as a result.
A re-release of the movie hit the silver screen in 2021, ahead of its 20th anniversary. Alas, it also flopped.
Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker is the final part of the third Star Wars trilogy. The movie grossed almost $1.1 billion at the global box office, or $1.4 billion (£1bn) in today's money.
Despite passing the magic billion mark, it was the lowest-grossing movie in the sequel trilogy and was ultimately viewed by Disney as a box office disappointment. Beset by problems from the beginning, including a change of director, extensive rewrites and the death of Carrie Fisher, the movie was burdened by a staggering production budget of $500 million.
Although its predecessors were panned by fans and critics alike, the final chapter of the second trilogy, 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, fared better. The movie pulled in a hefty $850 million at the box office, or $1.4 billion (£1bn) in today’s money.
Star Wars diehards are notoriously tricky to please, and the film was met with a mixed critical response. The dialogue, in particular, came under fire, while some criticised the 'wooden' acting of star Hayden Christensen.
A 20th anniversary re-release hit screens last year, grossing an impressive $55 million globally.
Solo might have flopped, but Lucasfilm succeeded with the Star Wars prequel Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016. The plot follows a band of rebels endeavouring to steal the Death Star plans, and the film grossed $1.1 billion worldwide, a cool $1.5 billion (£1.1bn) today.
While the movie was technically a hit, it received a mixed response from fans. Some felt it was the best Star Wars film since the original trilogy, while others complained that the plot was too congested and the characters too underdeveloped. The fact that the story was, once again, centred on the Death Star was also a source of contention.
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi was the final chapter of George Lucas' original trilogy. The movie made $482 million at the box office, almost $1.6 billion (£1.2bn) in today's money. The space epic was also 1983's highest-grossing film.
While Return of the Jedi was the lowest-grossing film of the original trilogy and is widely regarded as the weakest in plot terms, it was undoubtedly still a massive money-spinner for the studio.
The second entry of the third trilogy, 2017's Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, grossed a whopping $1.3 billion at the box office. In today's money, that's a tidy $1.8 billion (£1.3bn). It became the highest-grossing movie of 2017 in a year of strong competition, with three other films - Beauty and the Beast, The Fate of the Furious and Despicable Me 3 – also breaching the $1 billion mark.
While Rian Johnson’s only Star Wars outing divided fans, the movie generated a profit of over $400 million against a production budget of $343 million, according to Deadline Hollywood.
After a 16-year wait, fans were thrilled when Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace hit cinemas in 1999. The picture grossed an extraordinary $1 billion at the global box office, which works out at $2 billion (£1.5bn) in today's money.
Despite a then-record-breaking budget and an all-star cast that included Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Samuel L. Jackson, the movie is notoriously disliked by fans who criticised everything, from the editing and the pacing to the script and the acting.
A re-release hit screens in 2024, grossing a cool $19.4 million.
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back grossed $549 million globally, or a whopping $2.2 billion (£1.6bn) today. The cinema darling was also the highest-grossing picture of 1980.
Widely regarded as the best Star Wars film by fans and critics alike, The Empire Strikes Back also gave us one of the most famous scenes in cinematic history as Darth Vader shared a devastating family secret with Luke Skywalker.
The first film in the most recent trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, boasted a mammoth budget (it remains the most expensive movie ever made) and a fresh new cast, including the likes of Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and John Boyega, while the original golden trio – Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford – all reprised their roles too.
Fans flocked to see the 2015 flick, hoping filmmakers had learned from past mistakes in the controversial prequels. The film opened to generally positive reviews and grossed nearly $2.1 billion, becoming the year's highest-grossing movie. That’s $2.9 billion (£2.1bn) in today's money.
In the 1970s, the then-unknown George Lucas wrote and directed Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, and the movie was produced on a shoestring budget of just $11 million, the equivalent of $60 million (£44m) today. Lucas’s space opera went on to become the highest-grossing film of 1977, making $775 million at the worldwide box office, a staggering $4.2 billion (£3.1bn) in today’s money.
A New Hope became the highest-grossing film of all time until E.T. knocked it off the top spot in 1982. The movie that started it all, A New Hope quite literally spawned an empire. And it made George Lucas, who had agreed to take a pay cut in return for the merchandising rights to this and any other future films, very rich indeed.
Now discover what the first 21 Star Wars figures are worth today