'Solo' sputters in takeoff with $83.3M at box office

In the largest disturbance yet in Disney's otherwise lucrative reign over "Star Wars," the Han Solo spinoff "Solo: A Star Wars Story" opened well below expectations with a franchise-low $83.3 million in ticket sales over the three-day weekend in North American theaters.

Alden Ehrenreich is Han Solo and Joonas Suotamo is Chewbacca in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY.

Disney estimated Sunday that "Solo" will gross $101 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, a figure below even the opening weekends of the much-derided "Star Wars" prequels. Last week, forecasts ran as high as $150 million for the four-day haul of "Solo."

Overseas ticket sales were even worse. "Solo," starring Alden Ehrenreich in the role made iconic by Harrison Ford, grossed $65 million internationally in its opening weekend, including a paltry $10.1 million in China.

"Of course we would have hoped for this to be a bit bigger," said Dave Hollis, Disney's distribution chief. "We're encouraged by the response that people have had to the film. It got a good CinemaScore (A-minus). The exits are very encouraging."

"Solo" came in with a Millennium Falcon's worth of baggage following the mid-production firing of directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who were replaced by Ron Howard. With the rejiggered production, the budget soared well past $250 million.

But the cause of the spinoff's disappointing performance may have had as much to do with "Star Wars" fatigue ("The Last Jedi" exited theaters just last month) and the stiffer competition of a summer holiday weekend. While no major releases dared to open against "Solo," Fox's "Deadpool 2" moved its release date up a week ahead of "Solo."

Alden Ehrenreich is Han Solo and Joonas Suotamo is Chewbacca in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY.

The gambit may have hurt both releases. After debuting with $125 million last weekend, the R-rated Ryan Reynolds sequel dropped 66 percent to second place with $42.7 million and an estimated $53.5 million four-day haul.

"Solo" notched the biggest Memorial Day weekend opening in several years, but it also came on the heels of a pair of a summer-sized blockbusters — "Deadpool 2" and Disney's own "Avengers Infinity War" — making for an unusually crowded May. "Infinity War" added $16.5 million in its fifth weekend to bring its domestic total to $621.7 million and its global sales to $1.9 billion — both among the highest of all-time.

"It is a business that is built on momentum but also one where people probably are only able to get to theaters a certain number of weeks in a row," said Hollis.

But there were also questions beyond the effect the calendar had on "Solo." While reviews were generally positive (71 percent "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes), there was little about "Solo" that made the movie a must-see event.

Fans were skeptical of Ehrenreich and uncertain about the dismissal of Lord and Miller (the popular filmmaking duo behind "21 Jump Street" and "The Lego Movie"). Unlike any "Star Wars" release before, "Solo" was deemed — gasp — skippable.

Donald Glover, from left, Alden Ehrenreich and Paul Bettany attend a special screening of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" at SVA Theatre on Monday, May 21, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

As it arrived in theaters, Disney might have been wishing it had instead made a Lando Calrissian spinoff with the red-hot Donald Glover, the star of TV's "Atlanta." In the days ahead of release, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said a Lando movie is a possibility.

While the original "Star Wars" films helped define the summer moviegoing experience, Disney released their previous three "Star Wars" films in December. What most hurt "Solo" was the "fatigue factor" of a May "Star Wars" film following a December one, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore.

"It's the compressed timeframe between the two 'Star Wars' films and the highly competitive nature of this marketplace. It is summer, after all," said Dergarabedian. "The good news is that the next film isn't until December 2019. That's plenty of breathing space. I think part of the allure of the 'Star Wars' brand in the past has been the long wait."

That time might also be valuable for Lucasfilm and Disney to find a way to counter the diminishing returns of its multi-billion-dollar franchise. To help propel "Solo" internationally, Disney brought the film to Cannes Film Festival, flooding the French film festival's red carpet with Storm Troopers.

"The Last Jedi" also flopped in China (it was pulled from theaters after a week), and Rian Johnson's movie — even though it grossed $1.3 billion worldwide — showed relatively weak legs at the box office, while proving divisive among "Star Wars" die-hards.

The magic around a "Star Wars" film may be fading. To right the ship on Episode 9, Lucasfilm has turned to an old friend: "The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams. He, too, is replacing a fired director after Colin Trevorrow departed last fall.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.

1. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," $83.3 million ($65 million international).

2. "Deadpool 2," $42.7 million ($57 million international).

3. "Avengers: Infinity War," $16.5 million ($32.5 million international).

4. "Book Club," $9.5 million.

5. "Life of the Party," $5.1 million.

6. "Breaking In," $4.1 million.

7. "Show Dogs," $3.1 million.

8. "Overboard," $3 million ($2.3 million international).

9. "A Quiet Place," $2.2 million ($4.7 million international).

10. "RBG," $1.2 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:

1. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," $65 million.

2. "Deadpool 2," $57 million.

3. "Avengers: Infinity War," $32.5 million.

4. "How Long Will I Love U," $24.3 million.

5. "Believer," $10.4 million.

6. "A Quiet Place," $4.7 million.

7. "Blumhouse's Truth Or Dare," $3.3 million.

8. "Perfetti Sconosciuti," $2.8 million.

9. "Peter Rabbit," $2.4 million.

10. "Overboard," $2.3 million.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Paramount Pictures is taking the stage Thursday to present its upcoming slate to movie theater owners at CinemaCon in Las Vegas amid its pending deal to acquire Warner Bros.

In late February, David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance reached a deal valued at $111 billion to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which has been at the center of many discussions at the trade show and convention about what the implications might be for the depleted exhibition business.

No one mentioned Paramount at the over two-hour Warner Bros. presentation on Tuesday, but several of the filmmakers who made appearances were among the thousands who signed an open letter opposing the merger, including Denis Villeneuve and J.J. Abrams. In fact, the only studio to reference it at all was Amazon MGM, itself the product of an $8.5 billion merger, and it was in an irreverent promo for the “Spaceballs” sequel.

James Cameron, who co-directed Paramount’s upcoming concert film “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D),” is one of the few filmmakers who has said he supports the deal and is unbothered by the prospect of a Paramount-owned Warner Bros. In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Cameron praised Ellison as a “natural born storyteller” who “really cares about movies.”

“He’s the right man for the job to run a major studio, and now it looks like he’s going to have two of them, you know, swept under his leadership, which doesn’t bother me at all,” Cameron said.

Paramount, which closed its own $8 billion merger with Skydance just months ago, promised that it would release 15 movies in theaters in 2026, and Ellison has said that goal is 30 theatrical releases a year for a combined Warner Bros. and Paramount. The deal awaits a shareholder vote later this month and government regulatory approval at the state and federal level. The U.S. Justice Department still needs to weigh in on the blockbuster combination that could give Paramount pricing power over movies and other offerings, potentially hurting customers.

In documents filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paramount said, “Our priority is to build a vibrant, healthy business and industry — one that supports Hollywood and creative, benefits consumers, encourages competition, and strengthens the overall job market.”

They’ve also said they would look for ways to save some $6 billion through job cuts in “duplicative operations.”

Executives at Paramount have argued that merging with Warner will allow it to compete with bigger rivals particularly in the streaming space and bring larger content libraries for its customers. The 102-year-old Warner Bros. has a film library that includes “Harry Potter,” “Superman” and “Barbie.”

On Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held a spotlight hearing in Washington, D.C., on the potential anticompetitive impact of the consolidation of two of Hollywood’s big five studios into one.

Actor Mark Ruffalo, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of the merger said, “tens of thousands of workers will be left poorer, along with the audiences we serve.”

David Borenstein, who just won an Oscar for his documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” noted that it could further erode access to documentary filmmaking, “because a small number of distributors have consolidated power and decided to feed audiences a narrow and politically safe diet of content.” While neither Paramount Studios nor Warner Bros. are particularly well-known for their non-fiction releases, WBD companies CNN and HBO are.

At CinemaCon, however, Paramount may just stick to the upcoming releases. The studio has already had a hit this year in “Scream 7,” which has made over $212 million worldwide.

FILE - The Paramount Pictures water tower is seen in Los Angeles, Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)