Solo: A Star Wars Story isn’t hoarding cash, but why?
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 21: Alden Ehrenreich attends a screening of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” New York Premiere on May 21, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Star Wars fatigue
“Superhero Fatigue” was destroyed by Avengers: Infinity War after Marvel Studios released its 18th movie, even after Black Panther tore up the box office in its February-March run. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has not only found success with multiple movies in a short span in 2018 but since 2008.
Star Wars never tested this until 2015, when Disney relaunched a cinematic universe that seemingly went to bed after 2005’s Revenge of the Sith. It resulted in:
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (December 2015)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (December 2016)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi (December 2017)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 2018)
- Star Wars: Episode IX (December 2019)
No one was ever asked to see four Star Wars movies in two and a half years, let alone three in consecutive years. The latter experiment worked, with the box office results for Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi that each crossed $1 billion worldwide.
For the first time ever, everyone was asked to see two Star Wars movies within five months of each other. A gutsy move that apparently tested everyone’s willingness to double-dip on A Galaxy Far, Far Away. Given the early numbers for Solo, it failed.
A year-long gap between The Last Jedi and Solo might have helped the latter and built up the necessary anticipation for the latest Star Wars movie. Hell, this worked with Rogue One, which was the ultimate test to see if non-Skywalker movies could survive on their own. It will help Episode IX and maybe a Solo sequel, pending Disney’s willingness to gamble on this extension of the Star Wars universe.