Rise of Skywalker dominates box office despite devastating reviews
The newest chapter in the Star Wars franchise better hope it's still on the rise.
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker opened Thursday night to a $40 million North American box office haul. It's the fifth-highest preview performance of all time, but below the $57 million Disney earned with The Force Awakens and $45 million for The Last Jedi, per The Hollywood Reporter.
In other less-than-ideal news, Rise of Skywalker also got particularly dismal reviews from critics across the board, culminating in a 57 percent rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Still, Disney anticipates Rise of Skywalker will end up with at least $160 million in its debut weekend, while tracking services are anticipating it'll end up closer to $175 to $200 million.
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If Star Wars can be thankful for anything, it's the fact that it's not Cats, which ended up with a terrible 19 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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