Box Office Report: SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY is underperforming in a big way in its opening weekend across the globe.
First, let me say something about Lucasfilm and Disney bringing Star Wars back into the summer release schedule... NEVER DO IT AGAIN. There's too much competition, regardless of all the production drama surrounding SOLO also aiding in a somewhat negative perception of the movie. In December, there's less tentpole competition and the two weeks some parents are off from work and kids are on break from school help drive box office ticket sales in a way which is stronger than during the extended holiday weekend of Memorial Day. Families are cooking out and enjoying the outside experience, in many cases, for the first time after many months of being stuck inside their home during multiple cold months.
Getting to the box office numbers, SOLO is estimating an $83 million 3-day domestic opening weekend, and an estimated $101 million 4-day tally for the extended holiday weekend. Not bad for a regular movie release, but not for a Star Wars film. In fact, for comparison purposes, the 3-day estimate for SOLO is less than the 3-day total of JUSTICE LEAGUE, which managed a $93 million opening. That has to be some depressing perspective right there for Disney, Lucasfilm, as well as for Star Wars fans.
Internationally, SOLO is not faring well either as it is estimated to bring in $65 million. This includes it tanking in China with only $10 million. Please note: Star Wars has never done well in China, but this low of an opening number there signals the movie is a bust in the second largest movie market on the planet. Again for comparison purposes, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY opened with $30 million in China. (More depressing perspective, for sure.)
Globally, SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY has amassed $148 million.
It has been reported how SOLO is Disney and Lucasfilm's highest budgeted Star Wars movie yet. SOLO has a $250-plus production budget — due to heavy reshoots when Ron Howard was brought in last summer to helm the project — and this does not account for the millions spent for marketing the movie.
With International tickets sales way down, and U.S. sales down, when compared to initial tracking projecting SOLO could open as high as $170 million, SOLO will be lucky to hit the $400-$450 million worldwide mark especially with fierce competition coming. Tentpoles like INCREDIBLES 2, JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM, and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP are all right around the corner in the next six weeks of the summer movie season.
As I stated early in this post, keep Star Wars in December if you want to have the best chance at maximizing box offie earning potential. Some may claim "Star Wars fatigue" which is an easy excuse but this has more to do with the timing of the release and Memorial Day weekend has been a really bad release window for several years in a row now. There may also be some residual "The Last Jedi hangover" still in effect with many Star Wars fans who were disappointed in it, too.
Thankfully, STAR WARS EPISODE IX has been pushed from its May 2019 Memorial Day weekend release date to December 20, 2019. This happened when writer and director J.J. Abrams was brought back on board to helm the final chapter of the Sequel Trilogy he began with STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS.
Written by Daniel Wolf, Founder & Publisher
[All numbers sourced from BoxOfficeMojo.]
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