Ron Howard has been an expert at looking at the bright side since he played Opie back on "The Andy Griffith Show."

He took over as director of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" toward the end of the original production schedule, and has now taken ownership of the whole thing.

That means he's in defense mode when it comes to the film's box office disappointment, and meh reviews.

Howard has been retweeting support for the movie, and replying to fans like this one:


That guy didn't even tag Ron Howard, so it's clear RH is scrolling through various hashtags to see reactions. He's also suggesting fans check #SoloAStarWarsStory for "balanced feedback" -- as opposed to reviews on other sites?

Ron Howard has been retweeting dozens of responses to the official Star Wars account's request for favorite moments, among other positive retweets and replies:

So he's doing his bit for the cause.

"Solo" just had a pretty sad second weekend. It topped the box office but that's not saying much when it only made $29.3 million. It has only made $264 million around the world off a reported $250 million budget, even after the advantage of opening across Memorial Day weekend.

Critic and fan reviews across Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes, and IMDb have been mixed-to-good. (RT critics rated the film slightly higher than the Audience Score.)

Some people are bringing their agendas into the mix -- having already decided they hate or don't need to see the movie without watching it. Others were underwhelmed after seeing the film itself. But clearly plenty of people saw it and genuinely liked it. Still, not enough people have chosen to head to the theater to make up their own minds -- at least not enough to meet the high expectations of a "Star Wars" movie.

"Solo" will probably do solid business on digital/home release, but it may also change the way the Lucasfilm team schedules theatrical releases in the future.

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