KUALA LUMPUR: Science-fiction fan favourite The Empire Strikes Back is back at the top of the box office for the first time in 23 years.
Entertainment magazine Variety reported last Sunday that the film grossed a total of US$175,000 (RM747,250) at 483 locations and was estimated to end this weekend in the US$400,000 (RM1.7 million) to US$500,000 (RM2.1 million) range.
Directed by Irvin Kershner with George Lucas as executive producer, The Empire Strikes Back, part of the Star Wars film series, has not had a box office lead since its reissue in February 1997.
The lead brings the movie's total gross in the United States to US$290.4 million (RM1,240 million), with its five-day gross standing at US$210,000 (RM896,700).
Following its initial release on May 21, 1980, The Empire Strikes Back took the No.1 box office spot for eight weeks and earned US$547 million (RM2,336 million) worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of the year.
Globally, all Star Wars films have grossed a whopping US$10.3 billion (RM43.9 billion).
With the coronavirus pandemic still raging on, drive-in cinemas account for the majority of box office locations.
Classic reissues such as The Empire Strikes Back continue to perform well at drive-ins, with Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, and Jaws each collecting US$500,000 (RM2.13 million) around 500 locations.
The Empire Strikes Back is the fifth chronological film in the Star Wars series, although it was the second in the original trilogy.
Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, the late Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, the late Kenny Baker, the late Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz, it is highly regarded as the best film in the Star Wars saga and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2010.