“Never tell me the odds.” Han Solo barked those words at C-3PO just prior to entering an asteroid field. Perhaps someone should have told Bob Iger and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy the odds before they entered a asteroid field of their own. I’m of course referring to the poor timing and marketing of Solo: Star Wars Story. Both Iger and Kennedy are experienced entertainment industry executives. Despite that, they still grossly misjudged the odds of Solo’s success with their chosen course. Thankfully, the Star Wars film is finding new life with the Solo Blu-Ray release.
We don’t have to remind you of the difficulties the film faced on set. The decision to debut Solo: A Star Wars Story against Avengers: Infinity War, on the other hand…. That was probably one of the biggest industry blunders of 2018. That Solo Blu-Ray sales have gotten off to a solid start proves a few things about the film that perhaps Iger didn’t understand.
Solo Blu-Ray Gives Film New Life
In just the first two weeks of sales following its release, Solo: A Star Wars Story has sold over 800,000 copies. That’s not insignificant, though still the Solo Blu-Ray numbers are a far cry from those of the other Star Wars stand-alone story, Rogue One. According to Star Wars News Net (citing TheNumbers.com), Rogue One netted more than $1 million above Solo’s mark. (Rogue One also vaulted to the top of many people’s favorite Star Wars film list, prompting the upcoming Cassian Andor spinoff on Disney+).
Nevertheless, the Solo Blu-Ray numbers show the film’s popularity, making one wonder how it would have fared had Iger and co. released it in December instead of May. It also shows what a decent marketing campaign can do; the trailer for the Solo Blu-Ray release was better that the theatrical trailer.
Keep in mind, these numbers only reflect Solo Blu-Ray sales. The market is changing, and has been for the last several years. These figures do not account for digital sales on services such as iTunes, Amazon Prime or Vudu. I’m no market expert, but I’m confident in saying that Solo’s numbers are likely substantially higher factoring those media sales.
Solo wasn’t the worst Star Wars movie (The Last Jedi and Phantom Menace are still duking it out for that title). It wasn’t the best, either. But it was entertaining and better than expected. It’s nice to see the Solo Blu-Ray having some success.
Source; Star Wars News Net
