The disappointment: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Debuting with £4.85m for the weekend period at UK cinemas and £6.06m including its opening day last Thursday, Solo: A Star Wars Story represents a big commercial stumble for Lucasfilm. Disney must now be questioning its May release date strategy for Solo, following the successful December launch of consecutive Star Wars films in 2015, 2016 and 2017. And while Disney’s Marvel successfully releases two or more films a year within its cinematic universe, the strategy of presenting four Star Wars films within a 30-month period must now be questioned. Are these films too similar for that level of frequency?

The relevant comparison title for Solo is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, since they are both spinoffs. Rogue One opened in December 2016 with £13.2m over three days, and £17.3m including the Thursday opening. Solo’s debut is more than 60% down on that.
In 2017, no fewer than 21 films debuted at £5m-plus for the weekend period in the UK – a feat that has eluded Solo. This list of 21 titles includes the unremarkable Fifty Shades Darker and Kong: Skull Island, as well as slight commercial disappointments such as Blade Runner 2049 and War for the Planet of the Apes.

Disney will point to the hot weather at the weekend, but Deadpool 2 opened to sunny skies the week before, and began its run with a stronger £7.72m for the weekend period and £13m for the six-day debut session. In other words, Deadpool 2 opened 60% ahead of Solo on a like-for-like weekend comparison.

Bank holiday Monday saw Solo gross another £1.52m, pushing the five-day total to £7.58m. Most schools in England are now on half term, so Disney will be hoping to recovering some of the lost ground this week. But matching Rogue One’s £66m UK total now looks a very steep road to climb; ditto its $1.06bn global tally.

The runner-up: Deadpool 2

Considering it faced the arrival of a new Star Wars film, Deadpool 2’s 51% drop in takings from the previous weekend might be judged a decent effort. Second-weekend takings of £3.77m push the tally after 13 days to £20.7m. The original Deadpool had reached £25.9m after two weekends (a 12-day figure), so the sequel is lagging behind, but the school holiday – as well as tepid competition from Solo – should help. Deadpool maxed out in the UK with £38m. That target looks unrealistic for Deadpool 2, but distributor Fox may hope to reach £30m.

The family comedy: Show Dogs

Clips of dogs doing cute stuff are rampant on social media, so a scripted comedy featuring the same should be a commercial slam-dunk, right? Not in the case of talking-canines flick Show Dogs, which has begun with a mild £546,000 from 511 cinemas. Last year, A Dog’s Purpose – which foregrounded poignancy and drama over comedy – began with £633,000 for the weekend and £1.3m including previews. Show Dogs shares the family market with Sherlock Gnomes, which declined 3% at the weekend, and now stands at £4.34m. Peter Rabbit, reactivated for the half-term holiday, surged back into the top 10 and has now reached £40.3m.

The indie alternative: On Chesil Beach

Aside from Solo and Show Dogs, the only other entry in the UK top 10 is On Chesil Beach, adapted from the 60s-set Ian McEwan novel. The romantic drama, which stars Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle, had opened the previous weekend on a London-only platform. It has now expanded to 138 (mainly independent) cinemas nationwide, grossing a so-so £171,000. After 10 days, seven of which were London-only, the film has reached £288,000.

Comparisons are hard to make, but in November 2004, Enduring Love, likewise adapted from a McEwan novel, began with £165,000 from 69 cinemas, on its way to a total of £710,000. Three years later, the more ambitiously mounted Atonement debuted with £1.63m from 411 cinemas, finally reaching £12.4m.

The market

The disappointing debut for Solo means that the market overall declines by 22% from the previous session, but takings are nevertheless a robust 35% up on the equivalent weekend from 2017, which greeted Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales at the top spot.

A glance at the coming weekend’s releases suggests that distributors have accorded Solo more respect than it deserves: nothing with major commercial potential is coming out to challenge it. Cinema operators will be pinning some hopes on Book Club, targeting the older female demographic. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom follows on Wednesday 6 June.

Top 10 films, 25-27 May

1. Solo: A Star Wars Story, £6,061,231 from 680 sites (new)
2. Deadpool 2, £3,771,293 from 615 sites. Total: £20,682,579 (two weeks)
3. Avengers: Infinity War, £1,215,206 from 541 sites. Total: £66,138,820 (five weeks)
4. Sherlock Gnomes, £689,914 from 635 sites. Total: £4,343,619 (three weeks)
5. Show Dogs, £546,405 from 511 sites (new)
6. I Feel Pretty, £278,748 from 350 sites. Total: £4,467,136 (four weeks)
7. Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Secret Cinema, £227,194 from one site. Total: £3,417,728 (10 weeks)
8. On Chesil Beach, £170,841 from 138 sites. Total: £288,350 (two weeks)
9. Peter Rabbit, £118,214 from 460 sites. Total: £40,344,166 (11 weeks)
10. Life of the Party, £112,995 from 233 sites. Total: £1,409,252 (two weeks)

Other openers

The Breadwinner, £79,329 (including £34,540 previews) from 77 sites
Edie, £68,555 (including £17,312 previews) from 100 sites
McKellen: Playing the Part Live, £41,110 from 98 sites
I, Claude Monet, £34,663 (including £30,557 previews) from 12 sites
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, £22,582 from 23 sites
The Little Vampire, £20,570 from 85 sites
Zama, £18,690 from 14 sites
Kasal, £6,767 from three sites
Panchavarnathatha, £5,672 from 26 sites
The Rape of Recy Taylor, £5,134 from nine sites
Nela Ticket, £1,831 from 11 sites
This Is Congo, £1,394 from two sites

• Thanks to comScore. All figures relate to takings in UK and Ireland cinemas.