‘STAR WARS’ DISAPPOINTS

In the largest disturbance yet in Disney’s otherwise lucrative reign over “Star Wars,” the Han Solo spinoff “Solo: A Star Wars Story” opened well below expectations with a franchise-low $83.3 million in ticket sales over the three-day weekend in North American theaters.

Overseas ticket sales were even worse. “Solo,” starring Alden Ehrenreich (top) in the role made iconic by Harrison Ford, grossed $65 million internationally in its opening weekend.

“Solo” came in with a Millennium Falcon’s worth of baggage following the midproduction firing of directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who were replaced by Ron Howard. With the rejiggered production, the budget soared well past $250 million.

But the cause of the spinoff’s disappointing performance may have had as much to do with “Star Wars” fatigue (“The Last Jedi” exited theaters just last month) and the stiffer competition of a holiday weekend. While no major releases dared to open against “Solo,” Fox’s “Deadpool 2” moved its release date up a week ahead of “Solo.”

The gambit may have hurt both releases. After debuting with $125 million last weekend, the R-rated Ryan Reynolds sequel dropped 66% to second place with $42.7 million.

“Solo” notched the biggest Memorial Day weekend opening in several years, but it also came on the heels of a pair of summer-sized blockbusters — “Deadpool 2” and Disney’s own “Avengers Infinity War,” which added $16.5 million in its fifth weekend.