Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Plummets Further at Box Office

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker doesn't seem to be doing so well at the box office.

Episode IX just had its third weekend at the box office, and it seems like the film's ticket sales are plummeting. According to a report by Forbes, J.J. Abrams' second installment in the Star Wars franchise dropped by 53% at the weekend box office, earning only $33.7 million at the domestic market. That's well below box office analysts' Friday mid-day estimate for the film – The Rise of Skywalker was expected to rake in more than $37 million during its third weekend in cinemas.

Now, Skywalker's total domestic haul is at $450.8 million, a number which is 13% behind what Star Wars: The Last Jedi earned during this time in its theatrical release. Though the film is doing relatively well for a blockbuster movie, it's doing very poorly for a Star Wars movie that was supposed to culminate both the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the entire Skywalker saga. Everyone was expecting The Rise of Skywalker to sweep the box office market off its feet.

Of course, there are many reasons why The Rise of Skywalker isn't doing as well as expected. The film is being affected by poor reviews from critics. Right now, Episode IX is suffering from a rotten 54% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes with reviewers lambasting the film for its decision to put fan-service over quality story-telling. There's also the fact that the film has mixed word-of-mouth. Sure, the film might have a decent 86% fresh audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, however, the film's Comcast score, as well as reviews on social media, reveal mixed results for The Rise of Skywalker.

Have you seen Episode IX yet? What do you think about the film? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is currently screening in cinemas.

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