The movie bombed this weekend, unable to muster up even the conservative numbers that studio executives had hoped for..
The movie took in $14.1 million at Thursday-night previews, a record for Memorial Day (beating "At World's End," which took in $13.2 million)
Disney had been predicting $115 million for the weekend. $101 mil later, the mouse is a bit red faced..
Yes, a strong movie for any other time. But not for STAR WARS. And maybe a bigger issue: Not for Memorial Day.
The weekend just ain't what it used to be when it comes to the summer movie kickoff season..
Maybe a new pattern?
Last year, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" opened over Memorial Day weekend and took in $78.4 million from Friday to Monday. That was just under its projections of $80 million to $85 million and the lowest opening for a "Pirates" movie since the first one, 2003's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" ($46.6 million).
It is often a mistake to watch the weekend box office results for any judgement of a movie. But this is business.
And Disney made an effort to ensure their business for decades would be endless forays into the STAR WARS universe.. Toy lines.. spinoffs... sequels. Prequels.
And already? We seem done with it.
The magic of ROGUE ONE was that it was STAR WARS related, contained the storyline and respected the past. The newest sequels in the series lack a magic, one that ROGUE ONE briefly tapped into. And SOLO? .. The movie has been opening to less than great reviews.
The toy lines are going unsold at stores. Where toys are actually still sold..
Kids? They moved on. The majority of audiences for the STAR WARS movies this century are people who also attended last century.
Disney's biggest mistake may have been hubris. And now they are stuck with a movie from a galaxy too close to home..