Each Thursday we look at what is going to be coming out in theaters this weekend, show you the trailers for the big releases, predict the box office winner and just generally give you enough of a carrot to pull you through the rest of the work week. This week brings the second Star Wars film in six months to theaters to dominate Memorial Day Weekend.
After all the production woes, the second Star Wars spin-off is dropping into theaters. It arrives with possibly the least hype of any of the 10 films in the franchise, and despite not getting the horrible reviews that was feared, it hasn’t exactly whipped people into a frenzy. A lot of that can be attributed to it being released only six months after one of the most polarizing (if not THE most polarizing) entry in the Star Wars series: The Last Jedi. A lot of people are still processing that film negatively. Solo has never exactly been a film people have been wildly excited about. It never gained the enthusiasm of the Star Wars fan base, and it had so little time to be marketed after The Last Jedi, it hasn’t really ramped up a whole lot of interest among casual moviegoers. Unlike most Star Wars films, which have review embargoes up until 48 hours before release, Solo debuted at the Cannes Film Festival 10 days ago. Most reviews have been in for a week and Solo has settled at 71% on Rotten Tomatoes at time of writing. It’s still Star Wars, so I think most fans will still go and make up their mind for themselves.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, PG-13, 2hr 15min)
How Did We Do Last Week? KT picked Deadpool 2 to unseat Avengers: Infinity War from its dominance at the box office. Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool sequel fell short of the domestic record for an R-Rated film, but Deadpool 2 opened better internationally than the 2016 original. When the receipts were counted, Deadpool 2 finished with $125.5 million. Avengers: Infinity War dropped to second place with $29.6 million.
After four weeks in theaters, Avengers: Infinity War’s totals stand at $601.381 million domestic and $1.841 billion global. Internationally, Avengers: Infinity War is 4th all-time, and domestically, Infinity War is #8 all-time. This week it became the 8th film in US history to pass $600 million in box office. It very well could pass both Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Avengers to jump to #6 by the end of Memorial Day Weekend.
(2018 Prediction Record: 20-0; Lifetime prediction record 105 – 10).
WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
Even the least anticipated Star Wars film of all-time is still going to crush an opening weekend. It’ll be interesting to see exactly how much Solo does over the Memorial Day Weekend, but there’s no way it won’t be able to knock Deadpool 2 out of the top spot.
Is it just me, or would a Lando movie have been more successful? Cooler? An easier cache-garnerer? Sure he’s not as famous as Han, but R1 was about new faces entirely. A film about such a charming and likable character, played by Glover, might have gotten people excited, even in the wake of TLJ. The people at Lucasfilm might think it would not be “relevant,” but the smooth, morally ambiguous Lando would be a far better subject than Han, once you divorce Lando and Han from Williams and Ford.
Of course, they would neeed to figure out what differentiates bad publicity from good publicity.They seem to be a little shaky on that.
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James Mangold Jaemes Mangold James Mangold! Boba Fett! Of course… this is Disney and SW, so 50 percent chance he gets replaced. But even though everyone seems to unquestioningly accept the awesomeness that will be Fett, it will need just the right touch, because Uber-villain who so far has had more of a presence than a personality. Dear god give Lucasfilm the wisdom to allow the guy the space to give SW a shot in th arm.
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Just saw Solo, think youll like it. Dont sweat the small stuff.
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I hope I wasn’t starting to sound too neurotic.
Told ya the film itself was going to be okay.
Young Han Solo is a virtually unscrewupable concept. Han is too clear and direct a character to lose focus on.
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But it would not have worked if Ehrenreich hadn’t captured that same kind of essence. He didn’t need to look like FORD he needed to act like HAN and that’s what he does. He turns out to be a brilliant casting decision. Disney had better recognize that when this film loses money, and it will, that it wasn’t the fault of this cast, or abandon its potential. I’m wondering if we’ll get an announcement at ComicCon as to what the 2020 film will be. Fett seems like 2022 at the earliest if Mangold hasn’t even started the script, maybe 2021 if no new series is ready to begin. I’m a fan of the SW Story concept. I think it’s a great way to flesh out the Saga while using new series of films to evolve SW elsewhere.
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I knew Echrenreich would shine. He was turned into a punching bag, yet I knew. There’s nothing prophetic about it, all I had to do was watch Hail Ceaser and I could see him coming a mile away.
Never underestimate the capacity of Hollywood to take the wrong messages away from things and screw things up. But even without having seen it, I think the existence of this movie, in its finished form, proves that TLJ was a weird pet project born of some very swelled heads. Those responsible have been put in thier place. Disney knows how to gauge public enthusiasm, and if this movie proves popular, everyone will know to blame the reshoots.
I’m such a fan of the Stories, I wish that Disney had stuck with them. Luckily Abrams does not know how to be original, so whatever else, the episodes will become respectful again. I’m not criticizing Abrams BTW. The man is a poet of nostalgia.
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And you know how I feel about TLJ. I still love it, you know. It has not been damaged retroactively for me. Forward!
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I meant to say TFA I meant to say TFA!
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Thanks for catching a Thursday preview. You put me in a very good mood Dave, and I needed it.
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It’s my job. It’s what I do. (Heroic music plays)
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