A recent report from Forbes indicates that nearly all of Disney’s Star Wars films have been financially successful. Because all of these films are filmed in the U.K., Disney is required to create a separate production company there, allowing them to recoup up to 25.5% of the film’s costs. Once completed, the movie is distributed globally, and theaters pay a fee to show it. These theaters then keep roughly 49% of the revenue the film earns.
For a movie to be considered profitable, it generally needs to earn at least three times its total cost – that’s production expenses plus marketing. For example, if a film costs $100 million to make and earn $300 million worldwide, the theaters would take half ($150 million), leaving $150 million. After subtracting the initial $100 million cost, the studio would profit $50 million. While this is a simplified illustration, it helps explain how movie profits are calculated. Now, let’s look at how profitable the Disney Star Wars films have been, and how The Mandalorian and Grogu will compare. We won’t know the answer to that last question for sure until at least May 2026.
5) Solo: A Star Wars Story (-$103.3 million)
The first five Star Wars movies released by Disney came out in just four years, between 2015 and 2019. Releasing so many films so quickly likely led to audience fatigue. However, that wasn’t the only issue with Solo: A Star Wars Story—while enjoyable, it wasn’t a crucial addition to the saga. The biggest problem was that, despite Alden Ehrenreich’s performance, no one could truly replace Harrison Ford in the role of Han Solo.
Disney spent $365.7 million producing Solo, but after a tax credit of $65.9 million, the final cost came down to $299.8 million. While the film earned just under $400 million when released in May 2018 – making it the only Star Wars movie from Disney not to debut in December – it still resulted in a $103.3 million loss for the studio. Although another Star Wars film came out the following year, Solo‘s poor performance was enough to halt production of new Star Wars movies for a significant period.
4) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($48.3 million)
Disney had high hopes for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. They likely envisioned it as a strong recovery film, similar to how Revenge of the Sith bounced back after Attack of the Clones. However, that didn’t happen. Several issues contributed to the film’s struggles. Many viewers felt The Last Jedi significantly slowed the momentum built by The Force Awakens. The unexpected return of Darth Sidious felt forced, and the passing of Carrie Fisher before filming began meant the loss of a key original trilogy actor. Bringing J.J. Abrams back as director seemed like a last-ditch effort to fix things, but it wasn’t enough. When reviews came out, the film didn’t achieve the same positive ratings as its predecessors – it failed to earn a “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and didn’t even manage a generally “fresh” rating overall. The Force Awakens had 93% and The Last Jedi 91%, but The Rise of Skywalker fell short.
The film’s opening weekend box office numbers, while good for most movies, were disappointing compared to the previous two installments, which earned significantly more. Although it eventually surpassed $1 billion globally, the final film in the “Skywalker Saga” underperformed expectations – even earning less than some of the spin-off movies. The situation was made worse by the fact that The Rise of Skywalker was the second most expensive Star Wars film Disney had ever made. After accounting for production costs and a tax credit, the studio only made a profit of $48.3 million. While technically profitable, the film’s financial success was minimal, much like the impact of its storyline.
3) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ($258.4 million)
Following the successful return of Star Wars with Disney’s first film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story quickly gained popularity, boosted by strong recommendations. Over time, many fans have come to consider Rogue One the best Star Wars movie Disney has produced so far.
As a huge Star Wars fan, I always thought Rogue One was a win, and the numbers back that up! It made over 93% return on investment – seriously impressive. To give you some context, The Rise of Skywalker only managed around 9.9%, and Solo actually lost money – a whopping -34.5% ROI. Rogue One didn’t have the highest total gross, coming in third, but when you look at how efficiently it made money, it was number one with a 95.4% return! They spent $327.5 million making it, but a tax credit brought that down to $271 million. After all expenses, the studio walked away with a profit of $258.4 million. That’s a fantastic result for a spin-off prequel, honestly!
2) Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($324 million)
The strong negative reaction to Star Wars: The Last Jedi is highlighted by the fact that it experienced the largest drop in ticket sales during its second weekend in theaters of any film in the sequel trilogy. Sales fell by 67.5%, a much steeper decline than the 39.8% drop seen by The Force Awakens, and even worse than the 59.2% drop for The Rise of Skywalker. Whether the film’s surprising plot twists are better received now, almost ten years after its release, is still a matter of opinion.
It’s typical for movie sequels to be more expensive than the originals, but The Last Jedi actually cost over $200 million less to make than The Force Awakens. This lower cost certainly boosted its profits. Even if it had cost as much as The Force Awakens, it still would have been financially successful. Adding to that, a $71.4 million tax credit brought the film’s final budget down to $343.2 million. With worldwide earnings of $1.33 billion, the studio earned $667.2 million, resulting in a profit of $324 million.
1) Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($500.2 million)
Everyone was incredibly excited for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and it broke box office records left and right. It reached milestones like $100 million, $200 million, and eventually $799 million faster than any other film, and it had the biggest opening weekend worldwide. To date, it remains the only movie to earn over $900 million in the United States, when not adjusted for inflation. It wasn’t just a movie; it was a cultural moment. Many people vividly remember waiting in long, cold lines just to be among the first to see it and hear that iconic score begin.
It’s not surprising that The Force Awakens has been Disney’s most profitable Star Wars movie. It cost around $639 million to make (about $535.5 million after a tax credit of $103.4 million) and earned over $1 billion at the box office, giving the studio a profit of just over $500 million.
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2025-10-25 00:13