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Videos

Important Dates

Video release: 
April 4, 2000

Episode II release:
May 24, 2002 (tentatively)

Final Box Office Numbers
(These are more or less final figures. There are still reportedly 296 theaters showing TPM!)

U.S. gross to date
(January 17, 2000): $430.9 million

International gross
(January 14, 2000): $492.0 million

World total gross
(January 17, 2000): $922.9 million

Current ranking (domestic gross income): #3

Opening Day
(all-time single day record)
$28.54 million

Opening Weekend
(2nd best)
$64.81 million

Star Wars: A New Hope is ranked number 2 all-time (domestic) with $460.9 million.

Return of the Jedi was ranked number 7 with $309.1 million.

The Empire Strikes Back was number 9 with $290.2 million.

A scan of my first-day, first-showing ticket:

What is the most dramatic scene in the 4 Star Wars movies?

Vader tells Luke that he is his father - 48%

Yoda confirms Vader is Luke's father: "Your father he is."/Yoda's Death - 9%

Anakin's good-bye to his mother, Shmi - 8%

Jedi-Sith Duel/Qui-Gon's Death - 23%

Death of that cute little Ewok in RotJ or Other - 11%

How do you rate Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace?

4 Stars - 67%
3.5 Stars - 24%
3 Stars - 0%
2 Stars - 0%
1 Star - 3%
Haven't seen it - 6%

[01.29.2000]

TPM released in India - TPM made its final foreign market release today (10.22.99) in India. DevanJedi of GalaxyFarAway.com talks about the Hindi version of the movie here.

TPM 's video release date - Well, with all the foreign markets covered, there begins talk of the video release of Episode I. Myvideostore.com reports that the VHS version of The Phantom Menace will be released in March of 2000. There is no exact date or price set, but many sources are reporting a March 28th release. (Source: Watto's Junkyard and JediNet)

Alec Guiness speaks out - "Why did Obi-Wan Kenobi have to die in Star Wars? Because Sir Alec Guinness, who played the wise Jedi master, desperately wanted out of the project."

"In a new interview in Talk magazine, the 85-year-old knighted actor expresses nothing but disgust for his best-known — and best-loved — film role, and for the entire Star Wars phenomenon." (Source: Mr. Showbiz News ...click for full article) 

Episode II facts - It's hard to determine what you can and can't believe when it comes to the internet. Well, TheForce.Net has created this great page that helps separate facts from rumors about Episode II. I guess it goes without saying, but this page may contain Episode II spoilers. 

[10.22.99]

New! Only 12% of the votes in the poll are for Yoda's death?! C'mon!! We can do better than that! That scene is awesome (except for the whole Yoda dying and all)!

Ok, I've got some more cans in the past few weeks, and I'm now up to 18 of the 24 Pepsi/Mountain Dew collector cans! I managed to get the rest of the Pepsi One cans (yech!), and my cousin hooked me up with the Queen Amidala Diet Pepsi can! He may also get me the Anakin Pepsi can, bc I haven't seen any in stores (at least not recently). Still, Darth Maul and Captain Panaka are nowhere to be found.

Boy, these are some interesting topics, huh? Hearing about my quest to collect the 24 cans! Well, there hasn't been much goin around in the Star Wars world lately. One thing definitely worth mentioning, however, is that Brian Kuss no longer runs Watto's Junkyard. Due to personal demands, he turned over the site to the people who run the Massassi Temple. I bid thee farewell, Brian. 

[10.13.99]

I now have 14 of the 24 Pepsi/Mountain Dew collector cans! Hopefully, I'll be able to collect them all before they start disappearing from stores. The only ones I lack are: the 4 Diet Pepsi ones, the 3 Pepsi One ones (I have Chancellor Valorum), 2 Mountain Dew ones (Darth Maul and Captain Panaka), and 1 Pepsi can (Anakin). It's gonna take a while to gather them bc I have never seen a lot of these (ie. Darth Maul). 

[09.08.99]

Watto's Junkyard started a petition a while back to try to get the Star Wars movies available on DVD. George Lucas had recently stated that the movies will not be released in DVD format until after Episode III in 2005. So, use the Force of petition, and have your voice heard! We want Star Wars on DVD NOW!

Sign the petition here! [08.22.99]

[Update (09.12.99): The petition is now closed, and Brian (Wattosjunkyard's webmaster) will compile the signatures and send the petition to Lucasfilm. There were approximately 1500 signatures.]

Check out this old newspaper clipping I found. It's from some time in late 1996 or early 1997. I had it up in my locker in school back then! I recently found it in my room.

On July 24, The Phantom Menace hurdled the $400 million mark! In doing so, it passed E.T. in gross income to become the third highest ranking movie of all time! Experts claim that TPM will likely remain in the #3 position as it will need another $60 million to catch up with the second-place Star Wars: A New Hope ($460.9 million). The Star Wars: ANH numbers of course include income from its re-release as the "Special Edition". With only first-run numbers, TPM is #2 all-time, only behind the evil Ti***ic ($600.8 million). Also, TPM became only the 3rd movie to gross over $400 million. 

[07.28.99]

With "only" $0.85 million gross income for Monday, July 19, The Phantom Menace had its first day where it didn't earn $1 million or more. It took in at least $1 million in each of its first 61 days in theaters, amassing $395.2 million in exactly 2 months. That's an average of about $6.5 million per day! 

[07.20.99]

Lucas defends racism allegations - George Lucas said in an interview that the racial criticisms surrounding Jar Jar are "made by people who've obviously never met a Jamaican, because it's definitely not Jamaican and if you were to say those lines in Jamaican they wouldn't be anything like the way Jar Jar Binks says them. They're basing a whole issue of racism on an accent, an accent that they don't understand. Therefore if they don't understand it, it must be bad." (Source: BBC News ...click for full article) 

[07.15.99]

The Phantom Menace has passed Jurassic Park in gross income! With over $360 million, TPM moved into the #4 position. Once it breaks $400 million, TPM will pass E.T. and will move into the #3 spot. Experts predict that TPM will go on to pass the original Star Wars in ranking, but overall will finish #2 behind Ti***ic. (btw, for those who don't know, I refuse to put the name of that movie on my page!) I wouldn't count TPM out of the race for #1 tho. ;-)

[07.05.99]

The Phantom Menace is now the quickest movie to reach $350 million. It did it in 40 days, breaking the old record of 58 days formerly held by Ti***ic  

[06.30.99]

[Archived news. . ]