Solo sputters at box office, raising worries of Star Wars fatigue
LOS ANGELES — “Star Wars” just fell to earth.
In the first big box office test of Hollywood’s high-stakes summer season, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” collected about $83.3 million between Friday and Sunday, a huge total for any franchise film — unless that franchise is “Star Wars,” which has always performed at stratospheric levels. “Solo” also sputtered overseas, where initial ticket sales stood at about $65 million.
“Solo,” which cost Disney and its Lucasfilm division at least $400 million to make and market worldwide, will collect roughly $101 million over the entire Memorial Day weekend in North America, according to comScore. Disney had been hoping that the movie, focused on a young Han Solo and directed by Ron Howard, would take in closer to $140 million.
To compare, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” generated $155 million over its first three days in theaters in 2016. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” arrived to $220 million in December.
What happened? Multiplex gridlock, for a start. “Solo” arrived in the shadow of the Death Star — “Avengers: Infinity War” — and hot on the heels of “Deadpool 2” (20th Century Fox). “Deadpool 2” placed second over the weekend, taking in $42.7 million between Friday and Sunday, for a two-week domestic total of about $207.4 million. “Infinity War” (Disney) was third, collecting $16.5 million, for a five-week total of $622 million.
Weekend ticket sales totaled $176 million, a 23 percent increase over the same period last year, comScore said.
“Solo” also received less-than-euphoric reviews and faced skepticism from die-hard “Star Wars” fans, some of whom had a meltdown over creative decisions made on “The Last Jedi.” Disney is trying to please older fans while paying keen attention to millennials and children in a bid to keep the property healthy over the long term.
“Solo” may also have encountered franchise fatigue. “The Last Jedi” arrived just five months ago.
“’Star Wars’ fans have an enormous sense of ownership, which works to the benefit of the movie company and to the detriment,” said Steve Sansweet, president of Rancho Obi-Wan, a nonprofit “Star Wars” memorabilia museum, and former head of fan relations for Lucasfilm. “There is a growing feeling among fans that the movies are starting to come out a little too frequently.”