‘Solo’ sputters in debut

“Solo: A Star Wars Story didn’t exactly take flight the way that Disney had hoped.

The origin story of Han Solo took the top spot at the box office during Memorial Day weekend but underperformed, making $103 million in its first four days in the U.S. and Canada, when it had been expected to gross $140 million to $150 million.

“Solo” — directed by Ron Howard, who replaced Phil Lord and Christopher Miller midway through production — stars Alden Ehrenreich as the title character, along with Emilia Clarke and Donald Glover. The fact that it’s the second “Star Wars” movie to hit theaters in six months following “The Last Jedi” may have contributed to the weakest opening weekend of any “Star Wars” film since 2002’s “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.”

“Solo” also disappointed abroad, earning $63 million internationally. When combined with the domestic three-day total of $84.4 million, “Solo” took in $147.4 million worldwide in its first three days. By comparison, “The Last Jedi” sold $220 million in tickets in its first three days in the U.S. and Canada.

In second place for the weekend was “Deadpool

2.” The Marvel comedy starring Ryan Reynolds as a foul-mouthed antihero brought in $53.8 million over the four-day holiday weekend. That puts the domestic cumulative total at $218.5 million for the film, directed by David Leitch. By comparison, the original “Deadpool” brought in $241.3 million in its first 11 days.

“Avengers: Infinity War,” in its fifth week, took third place. The Marvel movie brought in $22.5 million over the four-day period, bringing its domestic box office haul to $627.6 million.

The four-day Memorial Day weekend as a whole was stronger than last year, bringing in $227 million in ticket sales, about 25 percent higher than in 2017.