'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Debuts Below Expectation at Box Office Amid Mixed Reviews

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Despite soaring atop the North American chart on its first weekend, the final installment in the Skywalker saga fails to match its predecessors, while 'Cats' flops with just $6.5 million.

Dec 23, 2019

AceShowbiz - "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" has leaped into a galaxy far, far away on its first weekend. The J. J. Abrams-directed sci-fi movie debuts atop the North American box office with an estimated $175.5 million, leading way ahead of its competitors.

Despite the big number, the ninth and final installment in the Skywalker saga failed to match its predecessors, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015) which opened to $248 million and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017) which launched with $220 million. "The Rise of Skywalker" was initially projected to earn around $179 million on its opening weekend, meaning it opened slightly below industry expectation.

This is likely because of the movie's mixed reviews from critics, with it holding an approval rating of 57% on Rotten Tomatoes. The audiences gave it B+ on CinemaScore, also indicating divided opinions among fans.

Addressing the critics from fans, director J. J. Abrams recently admitted that they might be right. "No, I would say that they're right," he told Vanity Fair when asked if fans aren't getting something from the latest film. He added, "The people who love it more than anything are also right."

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He additionally acknowledged that it's impossible to please everyone, explaining, "We knew starting this that any decision we made - a design decision, a musical decision, a narrative decision - would please someone and infuriate someone else. And they're all right."

Elsewhere in the domestic chart, fellow newcomer "Cats" has bombed following its bad reviews. Tom Hooper's live-action adaptation of the hit stage musical lands at the fourth place with approximately $6.5 million as it only holds an approval rating of 18% and was given C+ by moviegoers.

The drama starring Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, James Corden, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen and Taylor Swift among others was widely criticized for its poor CGI. With around $4.4 million from international markets, it's current global total of $10.9 is still far from covering its reported production budget of $95 million.

Last week's champion "Jumanji: The Next Level" is forced down one spot to No. 2 with approximately $26.1 million. "Frozen II" is also steady with an estimated addition of $12.3 million, while "Knives Out" drops two places to No. 5 with approximately $6.1 million.

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