UPDATE: Disney/Lucasfilms Han Solo origins tale, Solo: A Star Wars Story, has kicked off with $11.4M in two days at the international box office. The Ron Howard-directed film opened in 43 markets on Wednesday and Thursday including majors the UK, France and Korea. However, not included in the figure above is the unofficial $3.3M Day One estimate out of China today where the Millennium Falcon is stalling.
Ahead of the weekend, we were hearing estimates for the full 3-day China bow in the $10M-$25M range and Ranger Solo, as hes known locally, is now looking at the low end of that tranche.
While the result may be confounding, it is not a huge surprise given the lack of traction the Star Wars franchise has been able to muster over the most recent entries: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Each of those saw diminishing returns in the PROC which doesnt have the familiarity or nostalgia for the now 41-year old space epic. We understand no talent traveled to the market on Solo.
The Star Wars movies tend to play better in Europe, Australia and Japan (which doesnt go until June 29), whereas their cousins over in Disneys Marvel stable are major performers in Asia and Latin America. But its not only China thats dragging Solo down. The Korea number after two days is just $362K according to local estimates, and I hear the UK has started off very soft.
The film was No. 1 in many markets, though it is facing competition from holdover Deadpool 2. There is a hope that folks just arent rushing out to see Hans backstory, despite positive reviews and word of mouth, and that it may pick up some steam with families at the weekend. Whatever happens, the industry is rounding down its pre-opening offshore estimates.
Domestically, Solo set a Memorial Day record in Thursday evening previews. Today, along with China, it debuts in Mexico, Spain, India, Poland, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam. The only major market not opening this weekend is Japan.
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