Star Wars Franchise Total Worldwide Gross

Disney agreed to buy Lucasfilm for $4B yesterday, which is quite a sum for a company with effectively one franchise, or at least would be if that franchise wasn't one of the most beloved movie series of all time.

Over the course of its lifetime the Star Wars movies have grossed $4.5B worldwide not adjusted for inflation.  Disney released some other numbers to help analyze the transaction:  consumer products licensing revenue for Lucasfilm is expected to be $215m in 2012, and in 2005, the last year a film was released, EBIT was $550m.  That implies about 5-8 films to make back the purchase price (depending on how much you assume they make in a non-film year).  At 1 film every 2-3 years call it a 10-15 year payback period.

Source: Box Office Mojo