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SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY Underperforms with Estimated $84.8 Million 3-Day Weekend

This weekend sees the release of Lucasfilm’s second Star Wars spinoff, Solo. The film has faced a lot of negative buzz in the past year, primarily due to switching directors during production. It has also had a smaller marketing campaign, while it arrives just a few weeks after Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2. Unfortunately, these factors and more have led to an underwhelming opening.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Solo is grossing an estimated $84.8 million over the three-day weekend, and it is expected to hit $103 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. This is easily the smallest opening for any of Disney’s Star Wars movies, and it is a huge step down from the initial $130 million+ projections. While initial audience reactions have been positive, critics have been more lukewarm on it.

Overseas, it’s even more bad news. Solo opened with just $65 million, and it is bombing in critical nations like China. And it’s out in every international market except Japan, Croatia and Trinidad. This brings its worldwide debut to $168 million. This is a massive disappointment, as it was originally tracking to pass $300 million in its opening. It wouldn’t be as bad if the budget wasn’t $250 million+, but here we are.

Surely, there are plenty of reasons for why Solo isn’t doing well, ranging from negative buzz to a poor marketing campaign to possible franchise fatigue. Dropping it in the middle of the summer – a first for Disney’s run – doesn’t help any either. But perhaps it all boils down to what fans have said all along: People don’t care about a young Han Solo movie.

Elsewhere, superhero blockbusters Deadpool 2 and Avengers: Infinity War continue to do well. The former fell to second place this weekend with $42.7 million over three days, a 66% drop from its opening. It is expected to reach $53.5 million over the four-day weekend. The film also took in another $57 million overseas, bringing its worldwide total to $487.1 million.

Meanwhile, Infinity War occupies third place with $17 million over three days and $21 million over four. This will push its domestic total to a whopping $627 million, making it the sixth highest grossing movie of all time in North America. Worldwide, the film has reached $1.9 billion, bringing it extremely close to the coveted $2 billion mark.

Stay tuned for more box office updates as we have them.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WOBAM! Entertainment.