The definitive ranking of all 11 Star Wars movies

Here are all 11 Star Wars movies, ranked from worst to best: from Star Wars (1978) to The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

Today is celebrated the so-called “Star Wars” day. That’s why two new “Star Wars” series and a “Star Wars” short film will be released on Disney Plus.

Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul, Rey Skywalker, Kylo Ren, even RD-D2 and C-3PO: rarely can any franchise film showcase as large a cast of great characters as Star Wars creator George Lucas. While the focus at the moment is more on space series on the streaming platform Disney+, we shouldn’t forget the huge impact that the Star Wars films have had on film history over the past 40 years or so.

Reason enough for us to take a closer look at the eleven Star Wars movies released so far and run the outdated rating machine. We have focused on the eleven live-action films that have been released so far. We did not include animated tapes like “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008) or “LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special” (2020) in our list.

But how did we keep ranking? That’s why we’ve rounded up some numbers about reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes movie site. The value of how good (or bad) the movie is is averaged in brackets. Of course, Rotten Tomatoes dates aren’t everything, and we all have different preferences. However, percentage values ​​can give you a good impression of how good (or how bad) the Star Wars movie in question was at the time.

11- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (52 percent).

Oh, how high the expectations were when director and screenwriter George Lucas called in August 1999 after a 16-year absence from Star Wars. And oh how disappointed critics and fans alike were when they saw The Phantom Menace, the first part of the prequel trilogy, hit theaters. Darth Maul (Ray Park), the legendary movie poster and visual effects can’t save anything. At least from a financial point of view, the blockbuster with young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) was a huge success: to date, “The Phantom Menace” is the third highest-grossing “Star Wars” movie with a worldwide revenue increase of 912 million. American dollar.

10- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (52%)

“Every generation has a legend” was the tagline of the third and final sequel trilogy in December 2019. But there was nothing mythical about “The Rise of the Celestials.” Many of the storylines have come to somewhat disappointing ends. The reason the film is ahead of “The Phantom Menace” despite the same media score is the surprisingly high audience rating of 86% on average.

9. “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones” (65 percent).

While the term cringe wasn’t widespread in May 2002, reading an Attack of the Clones script today is the first thing that comes to mind. With worldwide revenues of nearly $540 million, the second part of the prequel trilogy is only the final third of the eleven Star Wars films. A little plus point: the meme with Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Padmé (Natalie Portman), which became known in 2021, comes from “Attack of the Clones.”

8. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (70 percent)

For the first time on our list we have one of two films that do not belong to the three “Star Wars” trilogies. Space western Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) tells the story of how Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) became one of the best pilots in the entire galaxy. Described by experts as an entertaining, fast-moving spectacle, the film was an absolute economic failure. With production costs of US$275 million, it couldn’t even bring in US$400 million.

7- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (80 percent).

We may only be in seventh place in our ranking, but with Revenge of the Sith (2005) we are already in the third and final part of the prequel trilogy. Compared to its predecessor, George Lucas completed his second three-part series with great success. Of course, the final duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker a.k.a. Darth Vader is particularly spectacular.

6- Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (82 percent).

For the first time we turn to the trilogy that started it all. Unlike the prequel trilogy, the third part of the original is doing the worst. Return of the Jedi (1983) is nevertheless a successful finale to a series of films about Luke (Mark Hamill), Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo, then played by Harrison Ford. Fans in particular seemed satisfied with the outcome. In addition to its media score of 82 percent, “Episode VI” has a score of 94 percent from them.

5. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (84 percent)

With some grimaces, fans watched the announcement of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first Star Wars movie not part of a trilogy. However, the end result was more than satisfactory. This was also reflected in the worldwide revenue figures, with “Rogue One” bringing in US$1 billion.

4. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (91 percent)

There is no other Star Wars movie that divides experts and fans more than Star Wars: The Last Jedi. With some surprising twists, the second part of the sequel trilogy did very well in reviews in December 2017. As for fans, the most expensive Star Wars film series to date ($317 million) was considered a flop by only 42 percent.

3. “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (92 percent)

The movie that started it all. Called George Lucas for the first time, Star Wars is what we call the whole movie game in the late 1970s. To this day, A New Hope is an absolute must-see for movie fans. Lucas also achieved this milestone on a budget that is now a ridiculous $11 million.

2. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (93 percent)

Ten years after the last Star Wars movie, director JJ Abrams has ushered in a new era. And how did he do it. The best of the three sequel films, The Force Awakens, managed to impress with new characters and familiar faces. This is also reflected in the numbers: With worldwide revenues of $2 billion, “The Force Awakens” is the most successful “Star Wars” segment to date.

1. “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” (94 percent)

Not only did the Empire strike back in the 1980s’ Episode V, but George Lucas proved the critics who called “A New Hope” a rogue mistake. Darker and more sinister than its predecessor, The Empire Strikes Back has reached a level that few films have before or after.