Revenge of the Sith's victorious return to the box office with $42 million worldwide

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith made a triumphant return to the big screen this weekend, releasing worldwide for its 20th anniversary.

According to Yahoo, Revenge of the Sith's rerelease gave new releases such as Sinners and The Accountant 2 a run for their money domestically. The Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor-led film collected $25.2 million from 2,775 screens across the U.S. This placed it in second place behind Sinners.

Internationally, it earned $17 million, which means the movie made $42 million overall in its return to theaters. This is an incredible number, and is likely to grow considerably during the rest of this week. It will ensure Revenge of the Sith crosses $900 million lifetime collections. To put this into perspective, The Phantom Menace's 25th Anniversary re-release collected $8.7 million from 475 screens in its opening weekend last year.

This isn't the biggest Star Wars re-release, as that achievement belongs to the 1997 re-release of the special edition of A New Hope, which collected $35.9 million domestically in its opening weekend. Revenge of the Sith's performance proves this is a great time to be a prequel trilogy fan. Lucasfilm deserves due credit for promoting the film's return to theaters with merchandise, new posters, and appearances by Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson.

The Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu actors made a surprise appearance at a screening at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood over the weekend, carrying lightsabers. The duo was welcomed with thunderous applause and loud cheers from a packed house. Fans have taken to social media to share videos from their experience of watching Revenge of the Sith over the weekend, and most theaters appear full.

Episode III chronicles the fall of the Republic, Order 66, Anakin's turn to the dark side, the fall of the Jedi Order, and the birth of Luke and Leia. The movie also features one of the greatest soundtracks John Williams has composed, including tracks like "Battle of the Heroes" and "Anakin's Betrayal." The movie also features what is probably the longest and greatest duel in the history of cinema between Obi-Wan and Anakin.

Anakin's tragic fall in the film was enriched by seven seasons of The Clone Wars, which added context to many of Episode III's major twists. For example, we now know that Anakin had a Padawan who was on the other side of the Galaxy and sensed his fall to the dark side when it happened. We know where the Bad Batch and Caleb Dume, aka Kanan Jarrus, and his Master, Depa Billaba, were when Order 66 took place.

This has made watching Revenge of the Sith on the big screen again, or for the first time, an even more exciting experience. Fans are hopeful Lucasfilm will consider keeping it in theaters for longer.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is streaming on Disney+. Book your tickets now from Fandango.com!