'' Star Wars : Episode III – Revenge of the Sith '' charity premieres took place in Seattle , Los Angeles , Chicago , Washington D.C. , Boston , Denver , Atlanta , San Francisco , and Miami on Thursday , May 12 , 2005 ; and on May 13 , 2005 , there were two additional charity premiere screenings in George Lucas 's hometown of Modesto . The official premiere was at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival ( out of competition ) on May 16 . Its theatrical release in most other countries took place on May 19 to coincide with the 1999 release of '' The Phantom Menace '' ( the 1977 release of '' A New Hope '' and the 1983 release of '' Return of the Jedi '' were also released on the same day and month , six years apart ) . The global outplacement firm Challenger , Gray & Christmas claimed one week before the premiere that it may have cost the U.S. economy approximately US$ 627 million in lost productivity because of employees who took a day off or reported in sick . Grauman 's Chinese Theatre , a traditional venue for the '' Star Wars '' films , did not show it . However , a line of people stood there for more than a month hoping to convince someone to change this . Most of them took advantage of an offer to see the film at a nearby cinema , ArcLight Cinemas ( formerly the " Cinerama Dome " ) . On May 16 , the Empire Cinema in London 's Leicester Square hosted a day-long Star Wars marathon showing of all six films ; an army of Imperial stormtroopers " guarded " the area , and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra gave a free concert of '' Star Wars '' music
2005 Cannes Film Festival
2005 Cannes Film Festival
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith