Theater Counts: The Last Jedi Expected in 4,100 Theaters
December 7, 2017
The long wait is nearly over. In eight days time we’ll have a lot of numbers to report as the film rolls out worldwide. But today we got our first official number from Disney: 4,100. That’s approximately how many theaters Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi will play in when it opens in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico next Friday. The number is no surprise: The Force Awakens debuted in 4,134 locations two years ago, and Rogue One opened in 4,157 last year. But it’s the first hard number that we have from the studio, and allows us to do a little speculation about how the opening is shaping up.
Needless to say, we’ll have a lot more to say about The Last Jedi over the next few weeks, but for now it’s worth noting that Disney is probably being a little cautious about their opening theater count estimate. It would be a surprise if The Last Jedi didn’t open in at least the same number of theaters as the previous two movies in the franchise. Even if it does, though, it will barely be in the top 50 widest openings of all time, and it would be little surprising for the film to play in so many fewer theaters than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which started out in 4,347 earlier this year. A week ahead of that film’s release, Disney predicted it would open in 4,200 locations, so adding 100 to their 4,100 prediction for The Last Jedi today doesn’t seem unreasonable.
If they sell as many tickets per theater for The Last Jedi as they did for The Force Awakens, play in 4,200 theaters instead of 4,134, and get 5% more per ticket (which is the average price increase over the past 2 years), that would translate into a $264 million opening weekend. Hold on to your hats…
With that sort of juggernaut barreling towards us, it’s not surprise this weekend is looking more subdued. Broad Green are going to sneak Just Getting Started into 2,146 theaters, and A24 expands The Disaster Artist into 840, and both films should find themselves somewhere in the top 10.
Also worth noting is I, Tonya opening in four locations, and probably headed for the best theater average of the weekend.
Next weekend, Ferdinand will be the back-up option for parents who can’t find tickets to Star Wars. Even if it gets completely overshadowed, it’s the sort of family-friendly animated fare that should play well into the New Year.
Theater Counts for Weekend of December 8-10
Estimates for Weekend of December 15
Movie Distributor Estimated
TheatersStar Wars: The Last Jedi Walt Disney 4,100 Ferdinand 20th Century Fox 3,600
Filed under: Theater Counts