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Rogue One: Star Wars spin-off set for huge box office haul while Will Smith's Collateral Beauty falters

The drama is on track to become Smith’s worst wide opening release of all time

Sunday 18 December 2016 14:17 GMT

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Clip - Trust Goes Both Ways

Considering how quickly Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the second highest grossing film of all time, expectations are high for Rogue One, the first spin-off from the main saga series.

Disney has acknowledged on several occasions the film won’t gross the same numbers a Force Awakens, yet the numbers remain significantly high.

According to Deadline, Rogue One will likely finish the weekend with a domestic US total of $155.7m thanks to a huge $71m Friday, the 12th best opening day ever and second best for December, only behind Force Awakens. The spin-off was previously expected to finish the weekend between $140m and $150m.

What’s perhaps more impressive is that tickets sales dropped just 35% going into Saturday, besting Force Awakens 43% drop over the same time frame.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Show all 13

1/13[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

'I rebel'

Straight off the bat, that instantly infamous line from Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso - "This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel" - is missing from the final cut. Probably a good thing, considering nobody needs Jyn's entire character motivation spelled out in quite such obvious terms.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Moody Orson Krennic

This brilliantly moody shot from the film's teaser never makes it into the final cut, but there's a good chance it was never intended to, having all the hallmarks of footage deliberately shot for the trailer.

Walt Disney Studios

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Moody Jyn Erso

The same goes for this look at Jyn Erso in her Imperial disguise, which definitely has the look of a promotional shot to it.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

'What will you become?'

The look at Jyn's Imperial outfit coincides with the final line of a cut monologue from Saw Gerrera: "What will you become?" The confusing part here is that Saw is seen with the close-cropped hair he sports only in the prologue scenes, when Jyn is only a child. When she visits him in Jedha, his hair is much fuller and he's sporting a beard. So, was this speech somehow originally delivered to Galen Erso in a cut prologue segment? In the context of Galen's work with the Empire and his later attempts to evade them, Saw's words would make a lot more sense.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

And Moody Darth Vader

Potentially another promo shot, considering this was used as the very first reveal of Darth Vader in the trailers.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Krennic and Vader

However, this shot also shows a cut scene between Krennic and Vader, in which the former talks about the "power we are dealing with here".

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

'The captain says you are a friend. I will not kill you'

K-2SO has many similar lines directed to Jyn throughout the film, but they're a lot less sinister than this one.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Captured rebel pilots

This shot from Jedha is missing. It doesn't exactly add anything to the story, but it's an added touch of grit which sets the tone nicely in the trailers.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

'Good.' 'Good.'

A cut moment between Jyn and Cassian, though it's a little hard to tell where this comes from - there's no moment where Jyn sits as co-pilot on the U-wing, since it's usually K-2SO in the seat.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Jyn faces off against a TIE fighter

What's interesting is that this shot of Jyn limping across the Scarif communications tower is, of course, in the final film. It's just that the TIE fighter is entirely absent. Was this a cut moment? Was Krennic piloting that thing? Or was it even just cut into the trailer to keep audiences off the scent?

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Krennic on the Scarif beaches

And what about this great shot of Krennic marching amongst the dead? The set-up and lighting seem to imply he survives the initial battle without getting shot by Cassian, and is on the ground when the Death Star destroys Scarif - if that's indeed the source of the glow in the background.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Jyn and Cassian in the Scarif battle

In fact, the trailer footage seems to hint at a drastically different ending, which may point to what exactly got changed during the re-shoots. We see multiple shots of Jyn and Cassian running along the Scarif beach with the Death Star plans. Considering the battle is still in full swing, it suggests the archives and the communications tower may have been separate locations in the original version.

[SPOILERS] 13 scenes from Rogue One's trailers cut from the film

Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO running through Scarif base

And here, again, we see Cassian, Jyn, and K-2SO running with the data plans through the Scarif base. That means the droid wasn't originally meant to die (or whatever happens to droids) defending the archive room.

Working against Rogue One is the school timetable: only 48% of schools are finished for the holidays, while 77% were done for Force Awakens. Last year’s film also had a far bigger budget, rumoured to be over $300m, while Rogue One was done made for $200m.

Meanwhile, Will Smith’s new film Collateral Beauty - co-starring Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Edward Norton, Michael Peña and Naomie Harris - has been much less successful, becoming Smith’s worst wide opening release of all time.

Collateral Beauty Featurette - Unexpected

The ensemble film looks set to gross just $6.9m over the weekend, far worse than the expected $11–13 million. Analysts have put the low showing down to the initial negative critical and public response to the film.

Rogue One is currently showing in UK cinemas, while Collateral Beauty reaches UK cinemas 30 December.

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