Solo: A Star Wars Story, the latest prequel in the huge film franchise, has failed to make the impact Disney had hoped in North America.

Analysts had predicted Ron Howard's film about a young Han Solo would take between $130m (£97.6m) and $150m (£112.7m) on its debut weekend.

But it had to settle for $103m (£77.4m), which was still enough to knock Deadpool 2 off the top spot.

Solo, starring Alden Ehrenreich, took an estimated $168m (£126.2m) overseas.

The Hollywood Reporter reckons that most box-office analysts blame Solo's underwhelming performance on the fact that it debuted just five months after Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released, suggesting audience fatigue.

"There's a question of frequency, and how many times people will go to the movies. Is this too much and too soon for a third time in a five-week period?" Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis told the film news website.

"Let's measure how we feel about this until more time passes," he added.

Source: Press Release