EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WBEN) - While it hasn't garnered nearly as much hype as its predecessors, "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker", is still expected to be one of the top movies at the box office this holiday season.
The ninth installment of the Star Wars saga is the final episode of the trilogy that was revived in 2015 with "The Force Awakens" and its sequel, "The Last Jedi". Episode seven of the series opened at the box office with a weekend gross of $247 million and ultimately made more than $2 billion at theatres. "The Last Jedi" collected more than $1.3 billion at the box office after its opening weekend of $220 million.
"Tickets are selling," Owner Lynn Kinsella told WBEN. "We are seeing more and more people as it gets closer to opening night buying tickets not just for (Thursday) night but after the holiday season."
Aurora Theatre had two showings of the movie on Thursday night. Between Friday and Christmas, the theatre will have three showings each day. After Christmas, the movie will be in theatres four times each day.
"It's a huge boost to us," she said. "We look back to see how all of the Star Wars movies have done. This trilogy is our top performing films ever."
She said there will be no shortage of Star Wars fanatics who will come in dressed in merchandise from the series ranging from sweaters and hats to a full Chewbacca custome. She even said a lot of her staff are "Star Wars nerds" that are just as hyped for the movie as many of the visitors.
More than 200 tickets were sold to the premiere of the movie at Aurora Theatre.