The thrill is gone. After more than four decades and nine releases, the “Star Wars” franchise has come a cropper with an $83 million opening-weekend estimate, with Memorial Day four-day figures likely to top $100 million. Granted, that’s a better take for the holiday than any release since 2014. But since when has “Star Wars” releases needed recent comparisons on the second-biggest release date in May in order to look good?
No one was expecting a challenge to all-time openings: “Solo: A Star Wars Story” falls outside the main franchise storyline and faces competition in a top-heavy blockbuster period. Still, the most pessimistic guess was $105 million for the four-day period, with $115 million considered a more likely low-end result.
We anticipated some reasons for the lower guesses. But this even-weaker total suggests that all the possible excuses came to pass — a troubled production history, mediocre early reaction, too much competition, too many Star Wars films in close proximity. And perhaps most of all, a not-entirely expected disinterest in the early days of Han Solo.
