If there’s one thing our culture can never get enough of, it’s movie sequels. Every summer at the box office, the highest-grossing movies look more or less the same—the latest retread of the hottest comic cook saga, or another similarly familiar franchise. But an interesting question has arisen in 2018: is it possible for our tastes to change? With the lukewarm results so far from Solo, the latest installment in the Star Wars series, industry insiders are starting to wonder if the public has had enough of the same old blockbusters.
The New York Times reported that Solo cost Disney over $400 million to produce and market worldwide. In its opening weekend in theaters, the movie made just $83 million. There’s obviously a long way to go, but the returns so far indicate that Disney might need a new strategy moving forward.
“‘Star Wars’ fans have an enormous sense of ownership, which works to the benefit of the movie company and to the detriment,” said Steve Sansweet, who runs a Star Wars memorabilia museum. “There is a growing feeling among fans that the movies are starting to come out a little too frequently.”
Disney was projecting that Solo would take in around $140 million in its opening weekend; it fell far short of that. In contrast, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story made $155 million during its first weekend in 2016, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi this past December made $220 million. With the downturn this year, insiders are wondering if perhaps less is more—adopting the James Bond business model and releasing just one movie every few years might yield better results.
Then again, the book is far from closed on Solo. Reviews have been decent, and momentum may keep building. A strong first couple of weeks of June would allay many of Disney’s concerns.
“We’re going to judge Solo by where we finish rather than where we start,” Disney theatrical distribution president Dave Hollis told the Times. “The base is a little smaller than we had hoped for, but it’s very respectable.”
