Solo: A Star Wars Story looks to edge past USD 100 million for holiday weekend

Disney and Lucasfilm's Star Wars prequel is now looking to make USD 101 million (VND 2.2 trillion) in North America during its four-day holiday weekend debut. The Han Solo origin film's three-day estimate currently hovers around USD 83 million.

Director Ron Howard with cast members at the 71^st Cannes Film Festival. (Photo: Reuters)

Tracking earlier this week suggested Solo would lift off with USD 130 million to USD 150 million. The film, directed by Ron Howard, follows Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo, who befriends his future co-pilot and Wookie companion Chewbacca, and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover). Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Paul Bettany, Joonas Suotamo, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge round out the cast.

"There's a ton of momentum in the box office," Dave Hollis, president of domestic distribution at Disney, said of the trio of recent openings - Solo, Avengers: Infinity War, and Deadpool 2. "There's a wide open landscape for the next handful of weeks."

Early estimates predicted Solo could secure the best Memorial Day weekend opening, but it looks like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End will continue to hold the crown with its USD 139.8 million in 2007.

Solo, the second standalone Star Wars anthology film, has fallen far behind 2016's Rogue One, which landed a three-day weekend opening of USD 155 million. The most recent installment in the franchise - Star Wars: The Last Jedi - opened less than six months ago. The second film in Star Wars' sequel trilogy debuted with USD 220 million domestically.

With Solo as the only new release of the weekend, the rest of the North American box office will be bolstered by a number of holdovers.

Deadpool 2 should easily score the second slot, heading for a USD 42 million three-day sophomore frame and a four-day total of around USD 54 million. As of Friday, the superhero sequel starring Ryan Reynolds has earned USD 176.8 million.

The fifth weekend of Avengers: Infinity War looks to land in third. The Marvel blockbuster is looking at a USD 16.9 million three-day estimate, along with a four-day number of USD 22.1 million.

In fourth should be Paramount's Book Club. The romantic comedy is aiming for USD 9.6 million in its second weekend. If its four-day cume reaches USD 12.3 million, that would put Book Club's domestic tally at USD 34.5 million. Life of the Party should round out the top five with around USD 5 million in its third frame.

Solo still boosts the domestic box office 23.1 per cent compared to Memorial Day weekend in 2017, according to comScore. Meanwhile, the year-to-date box office continues its positive trajectory with 7.6 per cent.

"Despite the fact that Solo performed softer than many had projected, a hugely competitive and crowded marketplace gave the industry one of the better performing Memorial holiday weekend totals," said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian./.

VNF/Reuters