Solo: A Star Wars Story

[TheMaxRebo]

Apparently Apple doesn’t like Wookies.

Com’on Apple ... let the Wookie win!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

As a SW movie, this one is not doing well, but let's not get crazy. This is far from a box office flop with over $268MM in global sales in the first 10 days. It is also the 7th highest grossing film in history for films released on Memorial Day weekend - a weekend that historically does not have great box office sales.

It probably will not be a $500MM film, but it doesn't have to be in order to keep the SW ball rolling forward. Disney is very highly invested in the SW franchise, and their parks and hotels themed toward this franchise are not even open yet. They are going to keep making these films. And SW fans the world over are going to keep paying to see them.

 

[Boski]

Apparently Apple doesn’t like Wookies.

Chewbacca : A Star Wars Story
(Presented by Samsung)

 

[Scifidiner]

We saw Solo last weekend, I liked it and give it a 7-8 out of 10. I liked it as much as I did Rogue one, which is more than I can say for TFA or TLJ. I did not particularly care for the L3 character or the giant "space monster", both made me cringe. It seems to me that episodes 7 and 8 were put together by a committee using demographics and market research to appeal to the largest purchasing segments. For the first time in my life I'm not looking forward the next Star Wars episode. They lost me after Luke just "faded" away. As far as these movies making some "political statement" I don't think SOLO is making any more a statement than A New Hope was about that administration. Movies are like a Rorschach's test for the viewer.

 

[TwoMisfits]

As a SW movie, this one is not doing well, but let's not get crazy. This is far from a box office flop with over $268MM in global sales in the first 10 days. It is also the 7th highest grossing film in history for films released on Memorial Day weekend - a weekend that historically does not have great box office sales.

It probably will not be a $500MM film, but it doesn't have to be in order to keep the SW ball rolling forward. Disney is very highly invested in the SW franchise, and their parks and hotels themed toward this franchise are not even open yet. They are going to keep making these films. And SW fans the world over are going to keep paying to see them.

With the $250M+ production budget it has (with Deadline reporting $300M+), it is looking at a minimum $100M+ theatrical loss (the higher end of the budget could mean a $200M theatrical loss) - it is literally one of the biggest tentpole bombs of the last few years, if not the last few decades. Its catastrophic reception at the box office is hard to understate. It may not make $400M WW at the box office. There is no amount of toys/merchandise that can pick it up...especially since merchandise related to a bomb doesn't sell, so it becomes a catastrophic double whammy...

Now, that being said...Disney can weather it b/c their Marvel side has been an absolute juggernaut this year...but make no mistake - for Lucas Films, this has become a catastrophe...and they will probably be sitting down for weeks trying to figure out what went wrong and how to move forward as they tally up all the losses from this film, and try to ensure it's a one off, and not a contagion on the franchise...

And final note - it's the worldwide indifference that is the biggest catastrophe...they have lost pretty much every country other than the USA when it comes to the Star Wars franchise...they are literally at square one trying to figure out how to win them back...

 

[BuckeyeBama]

With the $250M+ production budget it has (with Deadline reporting $300M+), it is looking at a minimum $100M+ theatrical loss (the higher end of the budget could mean a $200M theatrical loss) - it is literally one of the biggest tentpole bombs of the last few years, if not the last few decades. Its catastrophic reception at the box office is hard to understate. It may not make $400M WW at the box office. There is no amount of toys/merchandise that can pick it up...especially since merchandise related to a bomb doesn't sell, so it becomes a catastrophic double whammy...

This post is filled with hyperbole. And the bolded is patently absurd. It is not a tent pole film. It does not support the SW franchise. It was a sidebar film at most.

ETA - and it only cost $250MM because the original directors messed it up and they had to start over almost from scratch.

 

[TwoMisfits]

This post is filled with hyperbole. And the bolded is patently absurd. It is not a tent pole film. It does not support the SW franchise. It was a sidebar film at most.

ETA - and it only cost $250MM because the original directors messed it up and they had to start over almost from scratch.

It doesn't matter WHY it cost $250M+ - it doesn't change the fact that it did...and nothing in my post is hyperbole. Look at the international numbers after this weekend. It is at $115M total. It is looking at under $200M internationally...total. That's a wholesale rejection of the movie by all countries not named the USA. And even in the USA, it's a rejection, just not as wholesale as the world.

https://deadline.com/2018/06/solo-a...a-global-international-box-office-1202402537/

 

[BuckeyeBama]

It doesn't matter WHY it cost $250M+ - it doesn't change the fact that it did....

It changes everything. The timing of the release, the bad press leading up to it and the cost over-runs all lead to one thing - this film will not be as profitable as it would have been if it had just undergone a normal development cycle and a Christmas release. It would have cost much less to make and would have made much more at the box office.

The is not a "catastrophe". This is just a train wreck of bad circumstances that produced sub-optimal results. Lucas Films will learn from all of this. No one there is going to jump off a cliff.

 

[circus4u]

http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/03/media/solo-a-star-wars-story-box-office/index.html

 

[umichigan10]

It changes everything. The timing of the release, the bad press leading up to it and the cost over-runs all lead to one thing - this film will not be as profitable as it would have been if it had just undergone a normal development cycle and a Christmas release. It would have cost much less to make and would have made much more at the box office.

The is not a "catastrophe". This is just a train wreck of bad circumstances that produced sub-optimal results. Lucas Films will learn from all of this. No one there is going to jump off a cliff.

I do think they have to consider Kathleen Kennedy’s role though. The fact is their two standalones have both had production issues. One turned out well at the box office, the other not so much. You have to question her ability to assign directors and stick with them

 

[TomServo27]

Well they could do the Hunt for Red October trick were they start talking Russian then zoom in on the lips and the magically speak English. However if I heard a Wookie speak English in a Star Wars movie I might just ask for a refund.

Maybe Chewbacca can have a Scottish accent like Sean Connery did in red October even though he was Russian.

 

[adam.adbe]

I do think they have to consider Kathleen Kennedy’s role though. The fact is their two standalones have both had production issues. One turned out well at the box office, the other not so much. You have to question her ability to assign directors and stick with them

Yeah, but she's put a decent amount of money in Disney's coffers, and R1 is generally held to be in most peoples top three SW movies. I doubt they're in that much of a hurry to throw her under the bus.

SW is not Marvel. As long as Iger understands that, Kennedy should be safe.

 

[adam.adbe]

It changes everything. The timing of the release, the bad press leading up to it and the cost over-runs all lead to one thing - this film will not be as profitable as it would have been if it had just undergone a normal development cycle and a Christmas release. It would have cost much less to make and would have made much more at the box office.

The is not a "catastrophe". This is just a train wreck of bad circumstances that produced sub-optimal results. Lucas Films will learn from all of this. No one there is going to jump off a cliff.

Obviously what matters more is Disney's own internal projections. Click-baity websites running numbers that point to a 'catastrophe' are meaningless. Disney though know the business and should've had a good idea what this movie would realistically do at the box office. If it falls short of that, they're not going to be happy.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yeah, but she's put a decent amount of money in Disney's coffers, and R1 is generally held to be in most peoples top three SW movies. I doubt they're in that much of a hurry to throw her under the bus.

SW is not Marvel. As long as Iger understands that, Kennedy should be safe.

Obviously what matters more is Disney's own internal projections. Click-baity websites running numbers that point to a 'catastrophe' are meaningless. Disney though know the business and should've had a good idea what this movie would realistically do at the box office. If it falls short of that, they're not going to be happy.

I also seem to recall when they first announced making a movie a year the expectations were the episodic ones would be big and bring in a lot of $ but that it was lower for the "off" year movies - and then Rogue 1 did really well and I think set those expectations higher

I know we praise Marvel, but they may have been looking at this to be like Ant-Man that brought in $180m domestic not an Infinity Wars. I mean, that is probably an exaggeration and I am sure they are disappointed (especially by the international side)

 

[TomServo27]

Personally I thought rogue one was a bit of mess up until the last half hour. Then we got an incredible battle followed by Darth Vader kicking butt.

 

[middlechild]

Saw the movie about a week ago. It was good, a solid 7. No desire to see it again however. Other than some pretty awesome scenes like the train in the trailer, the character development lacked something, a hook, to care about them. Nothing there for me to talk with others, or talk them into seeing it. Might as well see Old Yeller instead.

 

[Chef Louis]

Personally I thought rogue one was a bit of mess up until the last half hour. Then we got an incredible battle followed by Darth Vader kicking butt.

100% this. The ending saved the movie but the rest is well it's really hard to watch, nothing the characters did made a lick of sense.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Spoiler: Question

Does anyone know the timeline of this film? I assumed it took place before Episode I due to the scene with Darth Maul but then remembered that the Empire was in control of the galaxy during the film. I believe Darth Maul was cut in half near the end of Episode I.

 

[ShadeDK]

Without arguing whether the box office is a bomb or a blessing or whatever (been there and done that for the prequels - everyone pulls numbers and comparisons to support their side in what becomes a very loud echo chamber), I did find a couple of things interesting in all the postmortem analysis. First, I learned that SW has always been soft in foreign markets - which really only surprised me given the sales tag on the franchise when Disney bought it. Second, the oddest comparison to me was that Solo will make less money domestically than Star Wars: A New Hope - not the original release, but the Special Edition released in the late 90s.

Yeah, but she's put a decent amount of money in Disney's coffers, and R1 is generally held to be in most peoples top three SW movies. I doubt they're in that much of a hurry to throw her under the bus.

I agree (even though I'm not in the Kathleen Kennedy fan club) - one thing I read was very clear on that: for about $1 billion in production budgets, she's made 4 movies that have made a total of about $5 billion. Love her or hate her, most businesses don't kick someone out the door on a 5x return on investment that nets them a cool $4 billion.

 

[rteetz]

Spoiler: Question

Does anyone know the timeline of this film? I assumed it took place before Episode I due to the scene with Darth Maul but then remembered that the Empire was in control of the galaxy during the film. I believe Darth Maul was cut in half near the end of Episode I.

Darth Maul was brought back to life in the animated TV series. I forgot which series it was.