I do not know how much of Attack of the Clones was complete by the time Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings showed up, but Episode Two seemed absolutely engineered, especially its showstopping, spectacle-heavy third act, to defend itself from the notion that Star Wars was passe or had been superseded in the pop culture zeitgeist. Oh, and thatвЂ™s not even counting Sam RaimiвЂ™s game-changing Spider-Man, which opened two weeks earlier and stole much of Episode TwoвЂ™s presumed thunder. Not only did Attack of the Clones have to reset the narrative after The Phantom Menace, but it would be the first Star Wars film opening amid other Star Wars-sized fantasy blockbusters. Peter JacksonвЂ™s towering adventure would earn a slew of Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director) and was almost universally believed to be the start of a Lord of the Rings trilogy that could stand side by side with Star Wars. A month later, The Fellowship of the Ring earned rave reviews and $881 million worldwide. Harry Potter and the SorcererвЂ™s Stone had smashed opening weekend records with a $93 million debut before legging to $317 million domestic while topping The Phantom Menace globally with $974 million worldwide. When Attack of the Clones opened in May of 2002, it was already at risk of playing second fiddle. However, the word of mouth was mixed among fans, some of the criticisms werenвЂ™t in bad faith and both Jurassic Park and ID4 (along with The Matrix) showed that the world of record-smashing fantasy blockbusters didn't exclusively belong to George Lucas.Дaniel Radcliffe (Photo by Peter Mountain/WireImage) WireImage

As a rule, especially in 1999, movies that earn more money domestically and worldwide than Jurassic Park ($357 million/$912 million) and Independence Day ($306 million/$817 million) would be looked at as unmitigated smash hits. It grossed $924.3 million upon initial release, placing second globally behind only James CameronвЂ™s Titanic ($1.8 billion) whose $600 million domestic gross had recently displaced Star Wars ($460 million counting the Special Edition reissue) atop the domestic box office. By that I mean it used the same вЂњHeroвЂ™s JourneyвЂќ template that inspired A New Hope and ended up sucking up much of Phantom MenaceвЂ™s pop culture zeitgeist oxygen.Д®ven with mixed-positive reviews and early examples of online outrage skewing the narrative, The Phantom Menace was a monster hit, earning $431 million domestic from a $64 million Fri-Sun (second only to The Lost WorldвЂ™s $74 million Fri-Sun/$92 million Fri-Mon debut) $105 million Wed-Sun opening weekend (a record five-day gross, natch).

The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss, was essentially a high-tech, of-the-moment, future-set remake of Star Wars. The Phantom Menace was preceded by The Matrix and The Mummy, films that provided viewers with the kind of big-budget, character-focused fantasy blockbuster thrills that usually only came from LucasвЂ™ trilogy. Moreover, by summer 2002, a major change was afoot in Hollywood, whereby the industry had begun releasing big-budget fantasy franchise films on a scale comparable to the once unparalleled led Star Wars saga. And even if Episode OneвЂ™s $431 million domestic and $927 million worldwide (second only to Titanic) gross seemed to debunk notions of viewer dissatisfaction, there was always a potential for a вЂњfolks were curious the first timeвЂќ drop. It was three years after the (comparatively) divisive reaction to The Phantom Menace. ItвЂ™s at this point where you can all-but picture George Lucas walking in front of the camera and shouting вЂњAre you not entertained?вЂќ 20 years later, Attack of the Clones is an early example of fan service as storytelling and marked the first time that the Star Wars saga found itself as a big fish amid other big fish in the same blockbuster pond. But then, at the last minute, Mace Windu walks into scene and draws his purple lightsaber after which we see about two dozen robed Jedi leaping into action on the field, ready to kick ass and take names. TheyвЂ™ve done their best against three cartoonishly lethal beasts, but now their doom is almost certainly at hand. ThereвЂ™s a moment amid the incredibly busy finale for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones during which our heroes (Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and PadmГ© Amidala) have found themselves captured and placed in a gladiator ring for what seems like certain death. Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman in 'Star Wars Episode Two: Attack of the Clones' Lucasfilm

Obi wan kenobi attack of the clones