'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Struggles at International Box Office on Opening Weekend

Solo: A Star Wars Story seems to be having as much trouble taking flight internationally as it is [...]

Solo: A Star Wars Story seems to be having as much trouble taking flight internationally as it is domestically.

It has become a common narrative in modern Hollywood that a film that performs mediocre or even poorly at the domestic box office can redeem itself overseas. That's how we ended up with a sequel to Pacific Rim, for example.

It seems that will not be Solo's story. The film opened ot a paltry $65 million internationally. Coupled with the film's disappointing domestic launch, Solo will have a worldwide opening total of just $148 million, which is less than Rogue One's domestic opening weekend gross alone in 2016.

Solo will easily become the lowest opening Star Wars film in the franchise's history. Rogue One, the first Star Wars Story movie, opened internationally to the tune of $132 million in 2016. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the most recent installment of the franchise, opened to $230 million international.

The United Kingdom is Solo's strongest market. The film made $10.3 million in the region. China follows with $10.1 million, then Australia with $5 million and Germany with $4.3 million. Other significant showings include France with $3.9 million, Russia with $3.6 million, Spain with $2.6 million, Mexico with $2.5 million, and Italy with $2.2 million.

Solo's disappointing box office performance will likely lead to a bout of industry discussion trying to diagnose what went wrong, whether it's franchise fatigue or a miscalculation by Disney to release another Star Wars movie so soon after the last. Solo is Disney's fourth Star Wars movie in as many years and the tenth in the franchise overall. Its release comes just five months after the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Are you surprised by Solo's struggles at the box office? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Solo: A Star Wars Story is now playing in theaters. The Skywalker Saga continues in Star Wars: Episode IX, opening on December 20, 2019. Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is said to be working on a new trilogy of Star Wars movies apart from the Skywalker Saga, and Game of Thrones creators DB Weiss and David Benioff are also said to be working on their trilogy of Star Wars movies.

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