Notes from ‘Solo’: Even ‘Star Wars’ can flop
It’s official: Solo: A Star Wars Story has gone rogue.
The spinoff had the lowest opening ($103 million for the four-day Memorial Day weekend) of any Star Wars film since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, ending a hit streak going back to The Force Awakens three years ago. And it has mustered only $148.9 million after two weeks, which is disappointing considering it centers on one of the Star Wars galaxy’s biggest icons, the cosmic smuggler Han Solo. There’s a chance the film’s entire haul won’t even equal The Force Awakens’ $248 million debut.
Even if it is a box-office dud, Solo got decent reviews (it was honestly pretty fun) and an A-minus Cinema-Score from audiences, so all is not lost. Here’s a look at the lessons Star Wars needs to learn from this underwhelming outing:
1 Don’t burn us out on Star Wars.
Back in the original trilogy days, there were three years between Skywalker saga episodes and 16 years between Return of the Jedi and the first prequel, The Phantom Menace. Solo arrived just five months after The Last Jedi began its blistering $620 million run, and crowds clearly weren’t ready for another intergalactic trip so soon. At least we won’t see Episode IX until 2019.
2 Some untold tales need to stay that way.
Solo dug into a lot of Han’s backstory only hinted at in the early Star Wars films: going on the Kessel Run, winning the Millennium Falcon off Lando (Donald Glover), etc. Those legends gave the character a certain mystique that now, to a certain degree, is gone, whereas a one-off mission with just Han and Chewbacca getting into trouble — and not being so fan service-y — may have been embraced by a wider audience. If you’re going to do an origin story, don’t use the entire feature to tell it: The first 12 minutes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade explained how young Indy got his whip and fedora, why he’s afraid of snakes and the meaning behind his name before shifting to its main adventure.
3 Get your head out of your past.
Even counting Rogue One’s impressive $532 million take, the prequel-y Star Wars Story spinoffs like it and Solo just aren’t doing the business pulled in by The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, two chapters moving the franchise into the future. Proposed stand-alones featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett could be hamstrung like Solo, whereas upcoming Star Wars movies from Last Jedi director Rian Johnson and the Game of Thrones creators would be best not treading on familiar ground.
4 Make Star Wars an event again (and a Christmas present).
True, May is a signature month for Star Wars releases, but let’s rethink that. The last three films ( Force Awakens, Rogue One and Last Jedi) all opened in December, when Oscar bait abounds more than blockbusters, and they had massive runs against little competition. Opening on the heels of the much-anticipated Deadpool 2 and Avengers: Infinity
War, Solo seemed like just another summer film, and Star Wars is bigger than that. Even with Avatar movies already staking out holiday dates in the future, the galaxy far, far away would be smart to own Christmas whenever possible.
5 Don’t worry about placating everybody.
Last Jedi became a flashpoint for dividing the Star Wars fan base: Some liked the way it moved away from the same-old with its core characters (especially Luke), others not so much. The latter even spawned the #BoycottSolo movement, rallying like-minded folks to avoid the spinoff. While other factors most likely had more of an effect on the bottom line, Star Wars shouldn’t worry about the haters or even the lovers — it’s a property that’s best when confident in its own brand of filmmaking. Lucasfilm needs to concentrate on fresh ideas and great storytelling, not overthink what its audience wants or expects.