Let’s be honest, Solo: A Star Wars Story is a risky move for Disney. Launched just under 6 months after The Last Jedi – which shared different opinions around the world – and after a long production process that included several rewrites, director changes and countless reshoots, expectations are high that the second spinoff of Star Wars in the Disney Era will repeat at least the success of its predecessor, Rogue One.
Watch Solo: A Star Wars Story final trailer if you were off planet Earth in the last 2 months and have not seen it yet:
Honestly, I do not expect much from the movie. But it’s a Star Wars, which is enough to keep me interested even if the actor Alden Ehrenreich does not look like Harrison Ford, or that Emilia Clarke is not blonde and hot riding a Krayt Dragon (yes, I’m a huge GoT fan, so that would look familiar), or that the movie does not change that stupid scene when Han didn’t shoot first in Episode 4…
After my disappointment with The Last Jedi, maybe Solo: Star Wars Story is the light at the end of the tunnel to showing the path that franchise should follow after Episode 9.
Solo: A Star Wars Story Set For Huge Global Box Office Opening
Source: ScreenRant
As Solo: A Star Wars Story prepares to open in theaters, it’s looking at a substantial global box office haul in its first weekend. The fourth new Star Wars film in this Disney era, Ron Howard’s spinoff is the first to brave the competitive landscape of the summer movie season. In the last three years, the galaxy far, far away has dominated the holidays with December premieres, which proved to be a very successful strategy. The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi collectively grossed $4 billion worldwide, positioning themselves as events and taking advantage of minimal competition.
Arriving just one week after Deadpool 2, Solo won’t have that luxury, but it looks to be in fine shape commercially. Even if its domestic opening weekend is the lowest of the modern Star Wars films, expectations are it will break the Memorial Day opening weekend record. Of course, the franchise is just as popular worldwide as in the United States, and audiences all around the globe are going to come out to see the adventures of young Han and Chewbacca.
Solo, which underwent substantial reshoots following its unprecedented director change, was not exactly a cheap movie to make. Reports indicate it cost Lucasfilm in excess of $250 million, which would be higher than the $245 million price tag of The Force Awakens. Because of the production woes, Solo finds itself in a position where it needs to do massive business in order to turn a profit. Fortunately, it’s poised to recoup its production budget in a single weekend, setting the stage for a lucrative run. Since the Solo reactions aren’t as enthusiastic as previous Star Wars movies, it’ll be interesting to see how strong its legs are, but there’s no reason to think right now there’ll be a drop-off.
While Deadpool 2 is still early in its run, Solo doesn’t have much to worry about for the next few weeks. Avengers: Infinity War has already done the majority of its damage at the box office, and there isn’t another four-quadrant blockbuster until Incredibles 2comes out in the middle of June. As long as Solo connects with viewers and goes down as the fun heist movie many say it is, it should be considered a success – despite everything it went through.
Recommended reading:
Solo: A Star Wars Story Cost More Than The Force Awakens
Solo: A Star Wars Story’s Director Problems – What Really Happened
Ron Howard Interview – Solo: A Star Wars Story
Solo Isn’t ‘Necessary’ – But Neither Is Star Wars
Mos Eisley Chronicles 