Solo falls short of expectations in opening weekend

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last updated 28 May 2018

Solo: A Star Wars Story brought in far less revenue than expected in its opening weekend, with $83.3 million in ticket sales in North America from Friday through Sunday, the Associated Press reported. Disney estimated on Sunday that the total sales of the four-day-long Memorial Day weekend would bring in a total of about $101 million — even less than the "much-derided" Star Wars prequel movies, AP explained. As recently as last week, experts predicted that Solo would bring in closer to $150 million.

Although the film's box office haul marked a record low for the Star Wars franchise, it still had the biggest Memorial Day opening weekend in recent years. "We would have hoped for this to be a bit bigger," said Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis, but Disney is still "encouraged by the response that people have had to the film," which earned an A minus on CinemaScore and a 71 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Solo may have underperformed due to the sheer volume of Star Wars movies that have come out in recent years — but experts say it might also have something to do with the other movies on offer this weekend. Deadpool 2 is in its second week and Avengers: Infinity War is in its fifth, which may have split up audiences for Solo's opening.