CatBus said:

The Star Wars juggernaut no longer has the capacity to recognize failure.........for the next several years, and afterwards, the usual suspects will deem it to be a success by measuring against whatever goalposts they manage to have constructed by then.

That's really it in a nutshell. In this day and age, no one's team ever loses. It's no different than the President speaking to a room full of Democrats and Newt speaking to a room full of Republicans. Both groups will claim victory because both groups hear only what they want to hear.

I haven't read any reviews for this, but I suspect the arguments are something along the lines of;

Non-fans - "Man, seventh place? That shows how bad it is."

Fans - "Man, 25 million in a week? That shows how good it is."

In the end, this will do exactly what Lucas wants. It will generate tons of return on investment - and it will once again get the prequels in the news, keeping them relevant.

A tip of the cap, George. You're a fucking genius.