Star Wars Worldwide Box Office: The Prequels Did What No Other Trilogy Could

A deep dive into Star Wars box office history reveals that only one trilogy in the saga didn’t lose momentum, and it wasn’t the original trilogy.

- July 9, 2025 | 3:37 PM IST

Star Wars Worldwide Box Office(Photo Credit –JioHotstar)

For over four decades, Star Wars has defined blockbuster cinema. From lightsaber battles to generational heroes and galaxy-spanning wars, every trilogy in the franchise has left its mark. But beneath the spectacle lies a surprising financial trend that many fans haven’t noticed.

While it may be one of the most iconic film franchises in history, Star Wars’ box office trajectory hasn’t always followed the expected upward curve of its sequels. This decline was consistent despite the high cultural relevance and marketing scale.

This is counter to the conventional blockbuster logic, where growing anticipation typically leads to higher grosses with each new entry, as was the case with The Lord of the Rings and Batman. Yet for Star Wars, that wasn’t the case, except for one trilogy. The prequels, often criticized during their release, ended up being the only set of films in the saga where the final installment performed better than any of the ones before.

The Prequel Trilogy: The Only Arc That Climbed Back

Despite launching the franchise into legend in 1977, the original trilogy saw diminishing returns at the worldwide box office, even though Empire is often regarded as the best film critically. The major reason behind this can be credited to the abnormal box office success of the original Star Wars. Return of the Jedi made $482 M at the Box office, as per The Numbers, a huge number for its time. However, it was not enough to take on the giant number set by A New Hope.

Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) – $775M
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – $549M
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) – $482M

A similar pattern was noted with the Sequel trilogy. Disney’s revival broke records with The Force Awakens, but faced creative backlash and a divided fanbase, causing a steep 48% drop from Episode VII to Episode IX.

Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) – $2.06B
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017) – $1.32B
Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) – $1.07B

However, the Prequel trilogy stands as the only one with at least one entry making more than the previous film of that trilogy. Though Attack of the Clones stumbled at the box office and with critics, Revenge of the Sith reversed the trend, pulling in stronger reviews and significantly higher earnings. This marked the only trilogy where the final film performed better than its immediate predecessor. It makes sense that Return of the Sith did well at the Box Office given its huge fanfare.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) – $1.05B
Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) – $656M
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) – $902M