Star Wars Episode 1 Smashes Box Office Records

As was widely anticipated, Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace last weekend smashed all previous opening weekend box office records. By Sunday 18 July the film had taken £9.51 million in the UK.

Episode One opened on Thursday 15 July (although some London screens opened at midnight on Wednesday) rather than the usual Friday opening of most films. Some have claimed that this was done to guarantee an opening weekend record. Director George Lucas has always claimed to have “no interest whatsoever” in smashing such records, despite the midweek opening of the film in the UK. Previously, the record was held by Independence Day, which took £6.9 million; Episode One achieved a substantial 33% increase on this.

Rarely has there been such widespread anticipation for a film release. Most screenings of the film in London’s West End are still booked solid for at least another week. The Leicester Square Mezzanine Odeon claims not to have a single evening ticket available until well into next week.

Subscribers can access the Cinema database by selecting “Cinema” from the drop-down box at the top of this page.