Call it Star Wars fatigue or simply strong weekend competition, but Solo: A Star Wars Story making it the lowest performing Star Wars movie on its opening weekend, which could mean Lucasfilm will need to rethink its plans for future spinoffs.
Solo took in $83 million in US tickets sales to be the top weekend movie according to Box Office Mojo. The Han Solo origin film also brought in $65 million in foreign ticket sales. Early estimates for the Star Wars spinoff suggested it would reach $130 million to $150 million in North America for Memorial Day Weekend, but with one day left that number seems unlikely.
With a budget of $250 million — which is more than the $245 million for Star Wars: The Force Awakens — Solo will have a tough time surpassing that amount with a busy summer blockbuster season. Its performance at the box office may also put in jeopardy other spinoff films such as the rumored Obi-Wan and Boba Fett standalone movies. There’s also Lucasfilm’s strategy of releasing one Star Wars film a year that may need to be tweaked, especially considering the issues Solo had during production such as changing directors only four months into filming.
In comparison, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story earned $155 million in its three-day opening weekend in 2016. Solo also didn’t receive the highest praise from critics with a 71 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 293 reviews while Rogue One has an 85 percent rating.
With one day left in the Memorial Day weekend, Solo may likely surpass $100 million. It’s unclear how well it will do in the following weeks as competition at the box office will start ramping up in the coming weeks.
On opening night, fans showered Solo with praise over social media. They particularly loved the appearance of one forgotten Star Wars character.
