Star Wars prequel Solo doubles Black Panther's ticket pre-sales in 24 hours

It makes it the second most anticipated film of the year behind Avengers: Infinity War

While being plagued with reports of a troubled shoot, Solo: A Star Wars Story is destined for huge success - a fact measured by the staggering number of ticket pre-sales it's racked up.

Tickets for the prequel spin-off, which stars Alden Ehrenreich as a young version of the Harrison Ford, went on sale Thursday night (3 May) with Fandango reporting it doubled the sales amassed by Marvel hit Black Panther in the first 24 hours alone.

In fact, the first day of Solo's pre-sales marks it as the second most anticipated film of the year behind Avengers: Infinity War which is currently breaking all kinds of records across the globe.

Going by this, it's a sure bet that Solo is going to do better than anyone anticipated following the firing of directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller and a lacklustre response to the trailer. Black Panther went on to become a mega box office sensation taking $1.3b globally, a number Infinity War has smashed in its first 11 days of release beating a 12-day record previously held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Solo also stars Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton and Donald Glover who appeared as his character - a young version of Lando Calrissian - on Saturday Night Live where he called out the lack of black characters in the long-running Star Wars franchise.

The film - released on 25 May - is projected to earn $170m in its opening weekend. It will receive its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival on 15 May.