It's highly unusual for a Star Wars movie to be anything less than a huge box office success, but the recent spin-off Solo: A Star Wars Story has proved to be a financial disappointment. The movie has made $312 million worldwide to date, and there are reports that it might ultimately lose money for Disney. Now director Ron Howard has commented on the movie's commercial failure.

Howard was responding to a fan who had tweeted about reports that some Star Wars viewers were boycotting Solo because of their displeasure with The Last Jedi, which was released in December. While Howard did not address this directly, he did lament that some audiences wouldn't see the movie on the big screen.

"I'm proud of [Solo] and the cast and crew worked hard to give fans a fun new addition," he wrote. "As a director I feel badly when people who I believe (and exit polls show) will very likely enjoy a movie... don't see it on a big screen with great sound."

There have been numerous theories behind Solo underperforming at the box office. As well as the Last Jedi-related fan boycott, there has been speculation that it was released too close to both The Last Jedi and superhero smashes Deadpool 2 and Avengers: Infinity War. In addition, it has been suggested it was an issue of marketing, with the first trailer appearing too late to build enough excitement for the film, especially since the relatively unknown Alden Ehrenreich was taking over as Han Solo.

But despite Solo's financial disappointment, Disney is still moving forward on more Star Wars movies. The next one is Episode IX in December 2019, and the studio is also reportedly planning standalone films for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lando Calrissian, and Boba Fett. Just recently, we learned that Logan director James Mangold may be directing the Boba Fett movie. Additionally, Disney hired the creators of Game of Thrones for a new Star Wars film series, while The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is making his own new trilogy of films after JJ Abrams' Episode IX next year.