It is hard to imagine, especially with the uncertainty movie theaters are facing, that we will ever see a cinematic moment as big as The Force Awakens ever again. While it is, or at least was prior to 2020, becoming somewhat commonplace for movies to pass the $1 billion milestone, The Phantom Menace earning the kind of money it did when it did was virtually unheard of. Episode I has earned $1.02 billion since its debut, in part thanks to a 3D re-release. And, regardless of the reception, it performed like gangbusters at the box office. It simply cannot be overstated just how big of a deal this was. People flooded theaters just to see the trailer in the era before such things were readily available on YouTube. We can argue ad nauseam about the successes and failures of The Phantom Menace but there is no denying that in 1999, this felt like the biggest pop culture moment in history. Show us the journey that Anakin Skywalker took to become Darth Vader. Then, George Lucas decided it was time to show us Episodes I through III. But for the general public, there were no movies. Yes, hardcore fans could turn to novels such as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, video games and comics. There was a time when the world thought Return of the Jedi was it for Star Wars.
But the fact that an entry many consider to be a major low-point for the series managed to make so much money demonstrates why Star Wars, to this day, is so very valuable in the media landscape. Taking into account the $115 million production budget it certainly made a great deal of money, though not as much as its predecessor.
Episode II took in $656.6 million worldwide. It was, at the end of the day, a middling financial success, relative to the rest of the franchise. To what degree it succeeded as a cinematic story can be debated for days. A Star Wars movie with much less Jar Jar Binks and much more Yoda with a lightsaber. The first major Hollywood production to be shot entirely on digital, as opposed to film. The middle entry in the saga of Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader. A sequel that had to both improve upon the critical disappointment of The Phantom Menace, the first entry in George Lucas' prequel trilogy.