By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Solo debuted at the top of the weekend with an estimated $83.1 million for the three-day portion of the Memorial Day holiday. (All figures reflect three-day box office). It was the sole new national opener but more than the Force contributed to the absence of a competitive counter-programmer. The long weekend was an overall improvement from 2017, but posted a double-digit decline from last weekend’s Deadpool 2 opening.
Best of new Indian imports was Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, with $171,000. Considerably more impressive were Filipino romance Kasal that wowed with a $243,000 debut and China’s How Long Will I Love U with $208,000, following $80 million on home turf in ten days of release. Among exclusive freshmen, doc The Gospel According to Andre (fashionista Talley) showed the best cut with $53,600 from six screens.
Revenues from the session generated roughly $180 million and ebbed back 16% from last weekend. It was still a 25% improvement from 2017 when the debut of the fifth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean set sail with $63 million and Baywatch hit the beach with $18.5 million.
Tracking for Solo suggested a three-day launch of about $100 million and a holiday box office in the range of $125-$130 million. It appears that it will be a hard slog to reach a nine-figure return for the full Memorial Day session. In the current climate of boffo, the spin-off falls into the category “When $100 Million Isn’t Enough.” On the domestic front the film’s audience skewed 58% male with 64% of the audience 25-and older. The 17-35=year-old base accounted for 44% of viewers.
Internationally, Solo stepped out with an estimated $65 million gross, opening in all major territories save Japan. It had fierce competition from Deadpool 2 and Avengers: Infinity War. Nonetheless it took top spot in such territories as the U.K., Germany, France and Australia, but not China, South Korea or Mexico. Its top-grossing territories included the U.K. with $10.3 million, South Korea grossing $10 million and Australia opening with $5 million.
