Chinese audiences aren’t into ‘Star Wars,’ and ‘Solo’ didn’t help

Walt Disney Co.’s Shanghai theme park attracts millions of visitors, and some of its films have topped the box office in China. Yet one of its most lucrative franchises is still a flop in the world’s second-biggest cinema market.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” opened in China over the weekend with about $10.1 million in box office sales, behind two films that weren’t even premiering, according to Disney and Box Office Mojo. Romantic comedy “How Long Will I Love You” topped the chart after drawing $37 million for its debut weekend. The superhero hit from Disney’s Marvel, “Avengers: Infinity War,” came second for the May 24-27 period, weeks after its $191-million opening, according to Box Office Mojo.

China, on track to overtake the U.S. in movie ticket sales by 2020, is an important market for Hollywood films, including some franchises such as Universal Pictures’ “Fast and Furious,” which has sometimes generated more revenue in the country than in North America. That’s one reason Disney keeps pushing the Star Wars series in China, where “Solo” secured a rare concurrent release with North America, even though it lacks the familiarity won in the United States by decades of sequels and prequels since the first film’s 1977 premiere.

Grace Jiang, a 30-year-old office worker in Shanghai, said she took a chance on “Solo” based on the franchise’s reputation but almost dozed off halfway through the movie.

“The planets and monsters feel weird,” she said at a theater in north Shanghai’s Yangpu district. “Maybe it’s cultural differences or something; in general it doesn’t suit my taste.”

“Solo” also opened to disappointing weekend sales in the U.S. and Canada, a rare slip for a movie studio that has dominated the box office for almost three years with serial-type adventures. The film collected $83.3 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters during the first three days of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, falling short of Box Office Mojo’s $108-million estimate.

In China, Disney’s prior Star Wars installment, “The Last Jedi,” also was beaten out by a local romantic comedy (Huayi Brothers Media Corp.’s “The Ex-File 3: Return of the Exes”). The Star Wars installment before that, “Rogue One,” generated $30 million in its opening, outside the top 100 movie debuts, according to Box Office Mojo. At the time, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was 41st on that list.