After ten days in theaters, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” has made less at the global box office than “Rogue One” made in its opening weekend. And its window to cash in overseas is closing, because “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” crashes into global theaters this week.
While American cinemas won’t get the film until June 22, Universal is releasing the “Jurassic World” sequel in 47 international markets this week, starting on Wednesday with Belgium, France, Germany, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, and Switzerland. The early rollout will cover all major European countries. Universal hopes to give the film a week or so in theaters before the FIFA World Cup — which will occupy fans worldwide — begins on June 14.
In total, “Fallen Kingdom” is expected to make around $135 million from this first wave of markets this weekend, which would be more than the $115 million “Solo” has made so far in its international run. Along with its struggles in the U.S., “Solo” fell to No. 2 on the overseas charts this past weekend, getting outgrossed by “Deadpool 2,” which was in its third weekend. The Marvel sequel, which just opened in Japan, grossed $41.6 million this weekend, compared to $30.3 million for “Solo.”
“Solo” was down 47 percent down from what it earned in its opening weekend, but that was with no new competition in theaters. With “Fallen Kingdom” coming to Europe and parts of Asia, “Solo” could be in for a harder fall.
Universal hopes the “Jurassic World” sequel, meanwhile, will be its tentpole release for 2018. The film isn’t expected to reach the $1.67 billion global heights made by “Jurassic World” in 2015, but “Fallen Kingdom” will still be aiming for the billion dollar mark.
Domestically, “Fallen Kingdom” is projected for an opening weekend of $130-150 million, which would put it roughly 30-40 percent down from the surprising $208 million launch that “Jurassic World” earned three years ago. “Fallen Kingdom” will open in China on June 15, hoping to match the $228 million made by its predecessor in that country.
Summer's 5 Biggest Box Office Showdowns, Including 'Deadpool 2' vs. 'Solo' (Photos)
This summer, there are very few "direct" box office showdowns. Most weekends will be defined by a single, highly anticipated film entering theaters. But those films will be competition for other big blockbusters coming out the week before and could impact their long-term domestic total. With that in mind, here are the matchups to look out for.
May 25: "Solo: A Star Wars Story" opening vs. "Deadpool 2" second weekend -- The sequel to the second highest grossing R-rated film of all time is expected to match its predecessor's $132 million opening. But while "Deadpool" had February 2016 mostly to itself, it will have to go head-to-head in its second week against Han Solo's origin story, which could split the 18-35 demographic on Memorial Day Weekend.
June 8: "Ocean's 8" vs. "Hereditary" -- After "Wonder Woman" gave Warner Bros. a big summer last year, the studio is sending in this all-female "Ocean's Eleven" spinoff as a refreshing alternative for female audiences to the big, male-dominated smash-ups. Another film that will try to compete for that same demographic is A24's "Hereditary," which scared the bejeezus out of audiences at Sundance.
June 22: "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" vs. "Incredibles 2" third weekend -- Perhaps this won't be much of a contest, but once upon a time, the "Jurassic" series was an armrest-grabbing thriller that families could go to together. But the "Jurassic World" sequel is being sold as a more mature thriller, which means that there might not be as much overlap between its main audience and that of Pixar's long-awaited follow-up to "The Incredibles."
July 13: "Skyscraper" vs. "Ant-Man and The Wasp" second weekend -- "Ant-Man" wasn't as big a box office hit as its MCU brethren, but the jaw-dropping ending of "Avengers: Infinity War" draw more audiences in to see how Scott Lang could factor in to next year's "Avengers" finale. Against that behemoth, Dwayne Johnson will try to work his box office magic again with a thriller that will see the 8-time WWE Champion play his most vulnerable action hero yet.
August: "Mission: Impossible -- Fallout" vs. "Christopher Robin" vs. "The Spy Who Dumped Me" -- The summer season will see a steady slowdown in August, as there's no "Suicide Squad" or "Guardians of the Galaxy" on the slate this year. Instead, the sixth "Mission: Impossible" film will be the big blockbuster on offer, trying to match the $195 million domestic total of its predecessor. Meanwhile, Disney will send in Ewan McGregor to play a grown-up "Christopher Robin," while Kate McKinnon and Mila Kunis will provide some comedic alternatives.
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Several highly anticipated films are coming out one right after another this summer
This summer, there are very few "direct" box office showdowns. Most weekends will be defined by a single, highly anticipated film entering theaters. But those films will be competition for other big blockbusters coming out the week before and could impact their long-term domestic total. With that in mind, here are the matchups to look out for.
