All 12 Star Wars Movies Ranked By Box Office (Adjusted For Inflation)

The Star Wars franchise has always been a sure bet at the box office, but how do the individual films rank among themselves when adjusting their worldwide grosses for inflation? When the first Star Wars movie was released in 1977, almost no one – George Lucas included – expected the film to be the smash hit that it was. This only continued with the first film’s subsequent sequels, Lucas’ prequel trilogy, and Star Wars under Disney. While new Star Wars movies will certainly try to reach the top spot on this list, closer analysis of the franchise’s success proves that may be extremely difficult.

These frequent box office success stories have led to Star Wars becoming one of the most successful film franchises of all time, second only to Disney’s other major franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Star Wars movies are often ranked by quality, their box offices are rarely placed in competition with one another. With the earlier films in Star Wars grossing surprising totals when adjusted for inflation and Disney’s smash successes like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it is worth exploring where all 12 installments rank among themselves regarding box office totals (via BoxOfficeMojo).

12 Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Release Date: August 10, 2008

Star Wars‘ first foray into animation, and thus far its only animated theatrical release, came in 2008 with the release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. While that film would spawn an animated series of the same name that found fame and popularity, the original movie was nowhere near as well-received, as The Clone Wars movie earned just a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes. Much of the criticism it received was due to its simple story which prioritized action over its narrative, as well as its 3D animation style, which was still clunky and unappealing due to being released in 2008, when it was still a fledgling technology.

Despite its poor reception, though, The Clone Wars did manage to turn a significant profit. With a budget of just $8.5 million, The Clone Wars earned over $68 million at the box office. It’s also worth noting that the movie has never been re-released, meaning the $97 million it made after adjusting for inflation all came from a single theatrical run. It may have made the least money in total of any Star Wars film, but The Clone Wars was far from a flop. It’s also gone on to have an enduring legacy, as The Clone Wars and the series it spawned proved animation could work in a galaxy far, far away.

11 Solo: A Star Wars Story

Release Date: May 25, 2018

Placing dead last on the list of Star Wars‘ live-action box office returns is Solo: A Star Wars Story. Solo was the second anthology film planned under Disney’s tenure, focusing on a pre-Episode IV Han Solo and his fateful meeting with Chewbacca that led to him becoming the galaxy’s most beloved scoundrel. Solo also underwent a tumultuous production, with initial directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller being replaced late in production by Ron Howard. Due to many rewrites and reshoots, Solo became one of the most expensive movies in the franchise, which contributed to it becoming Star Wars‘ first box office flop.

By the end of Solo‘s theatrical run, the film had grossed around $393 million worldwide against a budget of about $275 million. When adjusted for inflation, Solo‘s box office return sits at a grand total of $488 million against an adjusted budget of $341 million. While certainly not a catastrophic failure, Solo likely failed to recoup the total cost of the film’s production after marketing and distribution costs, which is a shame given the film’s nature as one of Star Wars‘ most purely fun, underrated projects.

10 Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones

Release Date: May 16, 2002

Ranking as the third-lowest box office total in the franchise is Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. Despite being a mainline Star Wars film in the Skywalker Saga, excitement for Attack of the Clones was negatively impacted by the poor fan reaction to Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Critics also scrutinized Attack of the Clones for inheriting many of the same problems that afflicted its predecessor, such as visual effects that were perceived as lackluster and a script that was considered cheesy and contrived.

As a result of its predecessor’s influence, Attack of the Clones comes in as the lowest-ranked Skywalker Saga film in the series, having earned a total worldwide haul of $653 million. When adjusted for inflation, Attack of the Clones manages to crack the $1 billion milestone, sitting at just above $1.1 billion. The fact that every installment of the Skywalker Saga has managed to break the billion dollar mark is quite notable, even if Attack of the Clones only just surpassed it.

9 Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker

Release Date: December 20, 2019

Next on the list is the final installment in Disney’s sequel trilogy and the culminating chapter of the Skywalker Saga – Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The film was released in 2019 and capped off the divisive sequel trilogy in an equally divisive fashion. While many thought Episode IX improved on its predecessor, fans of Star Wars: The Last Jedi were left wanting with how the film seemed to stray from what Rian Johnson established a movie earlier. Thanks to Episode VIII all but splitting audiences in half, The Rise of Skywalker‘s box office suffered somewhat in comparison.

That being said, the film still managed to gross a worldwide total of just over $1 billion, scraping past the coveted box office milestone. When adjusted for inflation, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s box office total sits at just over $1.3 billion. While not a failure by any stretch of the imagination, the divisive nature of Disney’s Star Wars tenure means that the final film in a saga 35 years in the making sits as the third-lowest-grossing Star Wars movie of all time.

8 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Release Date: December 16, 2016

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was the first anthology film released by Disney, and a very successful one considering Solo‘s box office figures. The film slotted seamlessly into the Skywalker Saga, detailing the mission to retrieve the Death Star plans that kickstarted the events of A New Hope. Being Disney’s first non-episodic film in Star Wars while simultaneously tying into the original trilogy, Rogue One was a success at the box office.

Rogue One grossed a worldwide total of just over $1 billion, which sits at over $1.3 billion when adjusted for inflation. Taking into account Solo‘s poor performance, the worldwide haul of Rogue One looks significantly more impressive. The fact that the film also managed to outperform two other films in the mainline Skywalker Saga speaks volumes, as does the continued success of the film’s characters in Disney+ series’ like Andor.

7 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith

Release Date: May 19, 2005

Despite the lackluster commercial reception of Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith saw the franchise return to form at the box office. Revenge of the Sith is undoubtedly the most beloved prequel film, with many regarding it as the story Lucas truly wanted to tell when setting out to make the prequels, with the two predecessors being simple stepping stones along the way. As a result, audiences flocked back to theaters to see the final transformation of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader.

This excitement was reflected in the film’s box office, with Revenge of the Sith pulling in a worldwide total of over $868 million, the second highest-grossing film of 2005 behind only Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. When adjusted for inflation, Revenge of the Sith‘s box office rises to just shy of $1.4 billion, only just edging out Rogue One as the seventh-highest-grossing Star Wars film. With the ending of Lucas’ prequel story, Star Wars saw a suitably successful return at the worldwide box office.

6 Return Of The Jedi

Release Date: May 25, 1983

In a shining example of just how successful the original trilogy really was, Return of the Jedi was the lowest-grossing of the three yet still comes in as the sixth most successful Star Wars movie in the franchise. Originally released in 1983, Return of the Jedi was the long-awaited culmination of Lucas’ Star Wars saga before the production of prequels and sequels was ever thought possible.

The film grossed a worldwide total of $475 million, which, when adjusted for inflation, grows into nearly a whopping $1.5 billion. This takes into account subsequent re-releases also, yet still highlights how successful Return of the Jedi truly was in 1983. A significant portion of the original trilogy’s extra earnings came from the 1997 special editions, which changed aspects of the films such as adding in computer generated assets and other details.

5 Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Release Date: December 15, 2017

The second – and undeniably most controversial – Star Wars sequel on this list is Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Despite being the only sequel-era movie with little to no behind-the-scenes drama, The Last Jedi released to a massively mixed reception from fans. While some regarded it as the worst film in the entire Skywalker Saga, others dubbed it the best Star Wars film since The Empire Strikes Back. If anything, this divisive reaction drove people to theaters, with The Last Jedi becoming the fifth highest-grossing Star Wars movie of all time when adjusted for inflation.

Initially released in 2017, Star Wars: The Last Jedi earned a healthy worldwide total of $1.3 billion. After adjustments, the film’s worldwide haul sits at $1.7 billion. Outperforming its successor, all three prequels, and Disney’s two anthology films, The Last Jedi‘s divisive reaction may have been the catalyst for the film cracking the $1 billion mark and cementing its place in the top five Star Wars films in history at the box office.

4 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

Release Date: May 19, 1999

The third and final prequel to be featured on this list is Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. After not having a Star Wars film released since 1983, fans all across the world flocked to theaters to see the first installment in George Lucas’ prequel trilogy in 1999, helping The Phantom Menace break multiple box office records. At the time of the film’s release, The Phantom Menace became the second-highest-grossing film of all time behind Titanic, epitomizing the excitement fans felt to be returning to a galaxy far, far away.

Taking into account subsequent re-releases that have seen the film’s total rise, The Phantom Menace has crossed the $1 billion threshold with a total of $1.02 billion at the worldwide box office, a total which will likely increase after the next re-release of the film on May 4. Adjusted for inflation, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace has grossed a worldwide total of $1.9 billion. Easily the highest-grossing prequel trilogy film, the long wait for The Phantom Menace massively contributed to its record-breaking – at least at the time – box office run.

3 The Empire Strikes Back

Release Date: May 21, 1980

Breaking into the top three is The Empire Strikes Back, which ranks as the third highest-grossing Star Wars movie of all time accounting for inflation. Empire Strikes Back‘s spot towards the top of the list feels justified, considering many retroactively consider it to be the best movie Star Wars has ever created. Despite its acclaim, though, Empire Strikes Back still paled in comparison to the first movie, which was to be expected given just how much the original Star Wars transformed the cinematic landscape.

Much like its predecessor, The Empire Strikes Back performed admirably at the box office, securing a worldwide total of $538 million. Adjusting that figure for inflation, The Empire Strikes Back‘s total sits at just over $2 billion. This figure does include re-releases, but that stands as a testament to the original trilogy’s longevity. While the special edition re-releases were a major factor in the movies’ financial success, even regular re-releases were able to secure tens of millions of dollars at the box office.

2 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Release Date: December 18, 2015

Much like The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ hype reached new levels due to being the first live-action theatrical Star Wars film in a decade. Due to this wait, and the promise of Disney expanding the Saga into the future beyond Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens similarly broke many box office records for Star Wars. To this day, The Force Awakens remains the most successful Star Wars movie Disney has produced, both in terms of box office performance and in reinvigorating the beloved franchise.

At the end of its theatrical run, Episode VII had earned a worldwide total of just over $2 billion. Adjusted for inflation, The Force Awakens‘ earnings sit at $2.7 billion, a staggering number for Star Wars‘ second-highest-grossing film of all time. Additionally, discounting theatrical re-releases places The Force Awakens as the most profitable Star Wars movie ever, and by a wide margin.

1 A New Hope

Release Date: May 25, 1977

Fittingly, the highest-grossing Star Wars movie is the one that started it all: A New Hope. Initially released as Star Wars in 1977 before receiving its subtitle at a later date, George Lucas’ first film in the franchise shattered all expectations. Not only was it a surprise box office hit, but Star Wars‘ impact on the entire cinematic landscape is still being felt today, with the franchise still one of the leading film series almost five decades later. The total worldwide gross of a film as groundbreaking as A New Hope sits at around $775 million, which skyrockets to unachievable levels when adjusted for inflation.

The adjusted value of A New Hope‘s box office sits at an astonishing $4 billion. Even without re-releases, the film earned a whopping $1.5 million after adjusting for inflation, despite being the first entry in a completely novel franchise. This places A New Hope as not only the highest-grossing Star Wars movie, but the fourth-highest-grossing movie ever made, behind only Gone with the Wind, Avatar, and Titanic. It is suitably fitting that the original Star Wars stands tall above its peers as the most profitable film in a galaxy far, far away.

Sources: Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes