Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the first PG-13 rated Star Wars ever, which may keep some of the smaller children away. And it is the darkest one to date, chronicling the transformation of volatile Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker to evil henchman Darth Vader.

"It's been a long time since people have been this engaged about anything. This is the weekend of the dark side." - says Gitesh Pandya of Boxofficeguru.com

There are skeptics, though - many of whom were disappointed with "Clones" and the film before that, 1999's "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace."

"I'm one of the people who won't see it because I couldn't stand the first two (episodes)," said Brandon Gray, president of Boxofficemojo.com, referring to "Menace" and "Clones."

Gray, however, thinks the darkness of the film could be a major drawback. Further, the protagonist of "Sith," Skywalker/Vader, isn't the heroic type.

"That's what's curious about this movie. It's really about making people root for the bad guy," Gray said. "It's dark and tragic and doesn't send the audience out singing."

Gloomy or not, no movie has fans more excited this summer, evidenced by opening-day ticket sellouts.

Director Kevin Smith, who saw the film last week at Lucas' invitation, says he and his wife, Jen, considered bringing their 5-year-old daughter, Harley.

"After just a while, we were really glad we didn't take her," says Smith, who frequently refers to "Star Wars" in his films.

"It's a great movie, but I'm not sure any kid under 8 should see that kind of violence. Even I was surprised by how insanely dark George made it." 

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