Solo Is Officially the First Star Wars Movie to Flop
Solo: A Star Wars Story has not been the auspicious continuation of the Star Wars franchise that Dis..
Solo: A Star Wars Story has not been the auspicious continuation of the Star Wars franchise that Disney and Lucasfilm had planned it to be—and after its second full week in theaters, its reception at the box office hasnt gotten any better. Given its earnings so far, in fact, this might be the first Star Wars movie to officially flop.
In its second week, Solo earned just $29.29 million—a 65 percent drop from its opening weekend, which was itself a disappointingly low take for a film with its high production budget. Buzzfeeds Adam B. Vary broke the numbers down Sunday, in two very helpful graphs that show how Solos meager reception compares to those of the three most recent Star Wars movies: The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi. Solo seems to be the first Star Wars movie that audiences are shrugging off as nonessential—perhaps because it tells the backstory of a character who doesnt really need one, or because of the films troubled production history.
Vary notes that the film also had specific troubles that made it more expensive than it was intended to be—which means it needs to earn even more in order to break even. “Firing SOLOs original directors Phil Lord & Chris Miller and reshooting much of it is what ballooned the films budget so insanely high,” he writes. “At this point, Disney and Lucasfilm must be wondering if L&Ms version would have ended up making the same amount of money, or more.”
Miller and Lord were fired months into the films production over creative differences with Lucasfilm—their vision of a Han Solo movie apparently did not mesh with what Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had in mind for the movie. Its possible, however, that something more daring would have at least drawn in a bigger word-of-mouth crowd. Ron Howards version made for a perfectly respectable, safe movie—but maybe, in the days of the polarizing, game changing revelations of The Last Jedi, that hasnt been enough for Star Wars fans.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.
