In the weeks leading up to Solo: A Star Wars Story's release, it was predicted that the second Star Wars spinoff movie could make as much as $170 million domestically on its opening weekend, a.k.a. Memorial Day weekend. Estimates later dropped to between $130 million and $150 million, and with Solo having finally arrived in theaters last night, we'll know in a couple of days just what kind of a start it got off to over the holiday weekend. For now, the numbers from last night's preview screenings have come in, and Solo kicked off its theatrical run with $14.1 million.
On the one hand, making over $14 million on opening night is impressive, and Disney is calling that a record for a movie opening on a Thursday prior to Memorial Day weekend, which was previously set by 2007's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End with $13.2 million. However, as Deadline reported, there are some comparing Solo: A Star Wars Story's Thursday night haul to the $13 million that Justice League brought in on its Thursday night premiere, a movie that went on to only make $93.8 million on its opening weekend and ended its theatrical run with $657.9 million, making it a box office disappointment. As things stand now, Solo is projected to make between $110 million and $115 million over four days, although these are still early predictions, so it's possible that Solo might make even more than that by the time next Monday has ended.
One thing that may help Solo: A Star Wars Story's chances is the fact that it's critically more well received than Justice League was, although compared to the other Star Wars movies released under the Disney banner, it's not quite at the same level. Still, if Solo only walks away with something in the $115 million, while it will be an improvement from recent Memorial Day opening weekends (the last big one was 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past with $110 million), the Han Solo-centric movie would still be still be the lowest opening of the Disney-era Star Wars movies, not to mention wouldn't measure up to the opening of 2005's Revenge of the Sith, the last Star Wars movie before now to open during May. Throw in that Deadpool 2 is still riding high, and it looks like Solo is facing a tough box office climb.
Set approximately 10 years before A New Hope, Solo: A Star Wars Story follows Alden Ehrenreich's Han Solo trying to make a name for himself in the galaxy far, far away's criminal underworld, during which time he interacts with folks both familiar (Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca) and new to us (Qi'ra, Tobias Beckett). Don't forget to read CinemaBlend's review and To 3D guide for Solo, and keep checking back for more news about the movie. You can also look through our 2018 release schedule to plan your trips to the theater later this year accordingly.
