With Solo: A Star Wars Story falling short of box office expectations, director Ron Howard has urged the public to still take a chance on it and go in with an open mind.
Howard tweeted out his message as he addressed the film’s less-than-spectacular opening haul, which chronicles the origin of Alden Ehrenreich’s Han Solo as the galaxy’s most notorious smuggler.
Didn’t meet projections but amounts to a new personal best. check #SoloAStarWarsStory for balanced feedback & then C it on a big screen! https://t.co/QsOxOLuo22
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) May 27, 2018
RELATED: Solo Misfires Its Opening Weekend at the Box Office
So far, Solo has earned $83 million domestically and is the weakest opening for any Star Wars film. It is a personal best for Howard though, beating back 2006’s The Da Vinci Code, which opened to $77 million domestic. However, it certainly falls below the Star Wars standard — a fact which Howard is now clearly resigned to.
Solo is poised to land around $114 million in total during the four-day Memorial Day weekend window — way below initial forecasts of $170 million, which would’ve given it the all-time record for largest Memorial Day weekend box office earnings. Coupled with a mixed critical reception and slow box office performance overseas, the adjusted opening weekend estimates mean 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End maintains its record as the largest Memorial Day weekend opening, while Solo is now on track to take the fifth place slot.
Before Solo‘s opening, 2016’s Rogue One posted the lowest opening weekend for a Disney/LucasFilm Star Wars movie. The first Star Wars spinoff earned $155 million during its holiday weekend opening.
RELATED: Solo Changes Han & Chewie’s Friendship – For the Better
Some are theorizing that with Solo being the third major blockbuster to hit theaters in just four weeks — following Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2 — fans may have been fatigued. Others believe that the movie’s troubled production, as well as Disney’s late marketing plan, also could have contributed to the disappointing performance, which now puts possible sequels and spinoffs in jeopardy.
In theaters now, director Ron Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Emilia Clarke as Qi’ra, and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca. They’re joined by Thandie Newton as Val, Phoebe Waller-Bridge L3-37, Paul Bettany as Dryden Vos, and Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett.