Rogue One proves worthy of its place in the Star Wars galaxy with box office busting opening day

ROGUE One has outgunned Deadpool, Batman v Superman, Captain America and the rest of 2016’s big guns after just one day in Australia.

THE first stand-alone Star Wars movie Rogue One is standing tall after its first day of release in Australia.

Its Thursday gross of $4,775,545 is the 10th highest opening day in Australian box office history.

The movie now shares the rarefied air of the all-time Top 10 with Twilight: New Moon, instalments of Peter Jackson’s Lord Of the Rings and Hobbit films, the final Harry Potter movie and last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

STAR WARS: Uncharted territory with Rogue One

The Force Awakens, the first Star Wars movie in 10 years, was released in the same window last December and blew away all competition with a $9,452,810 opening day. It went on to become the second-highest grossing movie ever in Australia, taking $93.8 million.

Oscar nominee Felicity Jones leads the unlikely heroes of Rogue One. Picture: Disney

Rogue One’s performance also tops the opening day of all of 2016’s other big hits including Deadpool ($2.944 million) and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice ($3.3 million).

Though Rogue One features familiar Star Wars elements like Stormtroopers, the Death Star, droids and a brief but impactful appearance by Darth Vader, it is mostly packed with new, unfamiliar characters, so was still seen as somewhat of a risky box office prospect.

The epic superhero teaming of Batman and Superman in Dawn of Justice turned out to be no box office match for a spin-off Star Wars movie. Picture: Warner Bros

The spin-off, which stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna and Ben Mendelsohn, expands on a line in the famous opening crawl of the very first Star Wars movie from 1977: “Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star.”

So while Rogue One wasn’t expected to compete on the same level as last year’s core saga instalment, the movie was still an “event” release — opening with sold-out midnight screenings around the country attended by cos-playing, diehard fans.

The escalators at IMAX Melbourne were filled with X-wing pilots, jedi knights and stormtroopers at midnight screenings early Thursday morning. Picture: Tony Gough

IMAX Melbourne General Manager Richard Morrison told News Corp Australia last month that his initial pre-sale expectations for the film were that “it would draw in about half the business of The Force Awakens”.

While pre-sales outstripped those expectations, sitting the film’s opening day numbers side-by-side with The Force Awakens’ take shows Morrison was pretty much bang on.

The next best performer at the Aussie box office yesterday was animated kids’ film Trolls, which was a long way behind at No. 2 with $517,142.

Rogue One opens on Friday in the US, with pundits there predicting it will land somewhere in the Top 10 to 15 US openings of all time.

Rogue One had a lot to live up to after The Force Awakens relaunched the Star Wars franchise in this release window last year. That film, starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and droid BB-8, holds the record for biggest opening day ever at the Australian box office. Picture: Disney

TOP 10 OPENING DAYS AT THE AUSTRALIAN BOX OFFICE

1. Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens $9,452,810

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 $7,092,376

3. The Avengers $6,003,882

4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey $5,901,715

5. The Hobbit: The Battle Of the Five Armies $5,614,928

6. The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug $5,564,516

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Return Of the King $5,289,477

8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $5,230,286

9. The Twilight Saga: A New Moon $5,055,619

10. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story $4,775,545

Figures: Motion Picture Distributors Assoc.

Originally published as Rogue One proves worthy of its place in the Star Wars galaxy with box office busting opening day