Although George Lucas self-financed the film, he retained his distribution relationship with Fox, which had been mutually beneficial up to that point. A key difference this time around is that Return of the Jedi would be the first installment in the trilogy, hitting theaters opening weekend and premiering in more than 1,000 theaters. For comparison, “A New Hope” opened in just over 40 theaters before it caught on like wildfire, while “Empire” opened in just 126 theaters.
Return of the Jedi hit theaters on Wednesday, May 25, 1983, exactly six years to the day after A New Hope changed movies forever. The film grossed a record $6.2 million on opening day, on its way to a then-record-breaking $23 million in three-week weekend grossing and a total of $41 million over the extended Memorial Day weekend route. As expected, it was a hit. The film topped the charts six times in its first seven weeks of release, only briefly relinquishing the crown to Superman III on its fourth weekend.
In the end, the trilogy finale grossed $375 million in its original circulation. But over the years, that total has grown to over $482 million thanks to various new releases, including a return to the top five at the box office earlier in the year. It wasn’t as big as “A New Hope” ($503 million when it first aired/$775 million so far) or “Empire Strikes Back” ($400 million when it first aired/$549 million). so far), but the film still made 12 times its gross budget, even before the re-releases, at $33 million in a cinematic landscape radically changed by the success of the original Star Wars. It was an absolute, massive win that cemented Lucas as a visionary spirit. Perhaps most importantly, the fans were left wanting for more.