Solo: A Star Wars Story Under-performs on Memorial Day Weekend

Fans of the Star Wars series are sure to be disappointed in the less than expected box office haul of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the latest film in the franchise. Solo only made an estimated $101 million for the four-day Memorial Day weekend, the lowest gross of any Star Wars film since 2002’s Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Industry experts initially projected a weekend haul of between $130 million and $150 million dollars for the film, a figure which was later reduced to between $105 million and $115 million. While the film’s $101 million haul is the biggest Memorial Day weekend debut in four years, it falls well below what films in the franchise usually make in their weekend debut. Rogue One, the previous entry in the Star Wars Anthology series, raked in over $150 million in its first weekend in 2016.

Pop culture experts are divided on why Solo underperformed. Many see franchise fatigue to be the biggest problem, pointing out that The Last Jedi, the most recent Star Wars film, debuted barely five months ago. Additionally, Memorial Day weekend has been a problematic time for films in recent years, with less people going to theaters in favor of barbeques and picnics. Still others point to the tepid critical response for the film. Currently holding a 71 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics lauded Alden Ehrenreich’s performance as the young smuggler but found fault in the film’s slow-moving and predictable story.

Despite Solo underperforming, fans of the Star Wars series should not worry about the future of the franchise, with both the saga films and the spin-off films assured to continue in the future. In an interview with CNN, Paul Dergarabedian, a media analyst at comScore, said that the franchise just needs a little breathing room and a chance to create hype amongst its dedicated fanbase. The next film in the series, the currently untitled Star Wars – Episode IX, is scheduled for release on December 19, 2019.