The Empire Strikes Back
“The Star Wars saga continues.”
The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.
How The Empire Strikes Back compares
Every figure below is calculated across the whole of Star Wars, not taken from this film’s own record.
- #1 of 9
- Rank in the series by rating
- 3 years
- Wait since the previous film
- 12%
- Share of the series audience
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) is the highest-rated of the 9 rated films in the Star Wars series, at 8.4/10 on TMDB against a series average of 7.3/10.
It arrived 3 years after Star Wars (1977).
Its 18,823 TMDB ratings are 12% of the 153,734 cast across the series.
Computed by Movies in Order from The Movie Database (TMDB) collection data for Star Wars, comparing all 9 released films in the series. Last recalculated September 2026.
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The Empire Strikes Back is film 2 of 9. See the complete watch order.