But let's get serious here. People who trash "The Phantom Menace" continue to live in some sort of weird fantasy dream state because they not only say "Phantom Menace" was bad, they claim "The Empire Strikes Back" was good. Well, if it was so good, why didn't anyone want to watch it at the theater?
Box Office Mojo has finally come through and published some numbers everyone can compare. Let's take a look the "Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation" table. OH! BAMM! "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" comes in third behind the original movie and "The Force Awakens".
"The Empire Strikes Back" is down there at number 5 and only "Attack of the Clowns" is left trailing the pack. "Empire" fares somewhat better with its "Special Edition" release in 1997 than "Phantom Menace (3-D)" did in 2012, but there you are pitting 3-D (blech!) against anticipation for the release of ... "The Phantom Menace".
| US Box Office Revenues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Film Title | Inflation Adjusted Gross | Unadjusted Gross | Opening Date |
| 1 | Star Wars | $1,228,939,900* | $307,263,857* | 5/25/77 |
| 2 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | $742,208,900 | $742,208,942 | 12/18/15 |
| 3 | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace | $730,350,200 | $431,088,295 | 5/19/99 |
| 4 | Return of the Jedi | $697,266,900 | $252,583,617 | 5/25/83 |
| 5 | The Empire Strikes Back | $679,003,900* | $209,398,025* | 5/21/80 |
| 6 | Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith | $510,784,700 | $380,270,577 | 5/19/05 |
| 7 | Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones | $447,825,600 | $302,191,252 | 5/16/02 |
| 8 | Star Wars (Special Edition) | $259,346,500 | $138,257,865 | 1/31/97 |
| 9 | The Empire Strikes Back (Special Edition) | $126,800,900 | $67,597,694 | 2/21/97 |
| 10 | Return of the Jedi (Special Edition) | $85,294,200 | $45,470,437 | 3/14/97 |
| 11 | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (in 3D) | $47,236,800 | $43,456,382 | 2/10/12 |
| 12 | Star Wars (Re-issue) | $45,323,400 | $15,476,285 | 8/13/82 |
| 13 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | $42,164,500 | $35,161,554 | 8/15/08 |
| 14 | The Empire Strikes Back (Re-issue) | $38,880,400 | $13,276,241 | 11/19/82 |
| 15 | Return of the Jedi (Re-issue) | $27,290,400 | $11,252,123 | 3/29/85 |
| 16 | Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience (IMAX) | $12,537,900 | $8,485,488 | 11/1/02 |
But we're not done. I also looked at the first theatrical runs for the movies. Specifically I counted the number of weeks each movie was in theaters.
Why are 1977's and 1980's inflation adjustment so large? Because inflation ran out of control in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Monthly inflation rates ranged between 12% and 15% in 1980, which was the worst year. Hence, adjustment for inflation does not indicate actual ticket sales. As I have mentioned previously, the number of tickets sold would be a better indicator but we don't have that data.
You could try to adjust the inflation estimates by using a chart like this, which estimates average ticket prices by year from 1980 to 2015 but that would not help you with 1977's ticket sales or be very accurate. And then you also have to take into consideration, on a weekly basis, how many theaters showed the movie. That is far more number crunching than I have time or patience to do.
At this point, the best available metric for popularity of these movies with their respective audiences is the number of weeks of their original runs in the theaters. Given the powerful holiday opening for "The Force Awakens" I will not be surprised if it surpasses "The Phantom Menace" but right now no other movie in the Star Wars catalog even comes close to matching "The Phantom Menace" in terms of length of original theatrical runs. But even that metric is crude at best because the cinema industry has undergone massive upheavals that began in the 1970s, when the largest number of screens per theater might have been in the range of 4-8, but by 2000 theaters boasting 20 screens or more were becoming common in the larger metropolitan areas (and many smaller theaters had closed).
| US Original Box Office Runs (in weeks) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Film Title | Number of weeks | Opening Date | Domestic Gross |
| 1 | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace | 31 Weeks | 5/19/99 | $431,088,295 |
| 2 | Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones | 25 Weeks | 5/16/02 | $302,191,252 |
| 3 | Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi | 25 Weeks | 5/25/83 | $252,583,617 |
| 4 | Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith | 23 Weeks | 5/19/05 | $380,270,577 |
| 5 | Star Wars | 21 Weeks | 5/25/77 | $307,263,857 |
| 6 | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back | 9 Weeks | 5/21/80 | $209,398,025 |
That's right, folks. In 1980 audiences could only tolerate "The Empire Strikes Back" for a total of 9 weeks. You can't say, "Well, theatrical schedules ran differently in 1999 than 1980" because, well, even if that were true it wouldn't matter (and "Gone With the Wind" has the record for longest box office run, measured in DECADES).
The arguments will continue but by all best available measures "The Empire Strikes Back" is a horrible movie to offer up as an alternative to "The Phantom Menace". More people liked "The Phantom Menace" than any other George Lucas Star Wars movie and the vocal minority will continue to complain and rail against it but they cannot change history.
Even with a huge adjustment from double-digit inflation, "The Empire Strikes Back" could not match "The Phantom Menace" in widespread audience appeal. It just is NOT a good movie.
The arguments will continue but by all best available measures "The Empire Strikes Back" is a horrible movie to offer up as an alternative to "The Phantom Menace". More people liked "The Phantom Menace" than any other George Lucas Star Wars movie and the vocal minority will continue to complain and rail against it but they cannot change history.
Even with a huge adjustment from double-digit inflation, "The Empire Strikes Back" could not match "The Phantom Menace" in widespread audience appeal. It just is NOT a good movie.
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