Star Wars Returns with ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’

The latest ‘Star Wars’ movie attracted strong audiences in theaters globally over the weekend. ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ generated $82 million in ticket sales across 4,300 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. By the end of Monday’s Memorial Day holiday, domestic earnings are expected to reach $102 million, with global revenues totaling $165 million.

This film, a continuation from the Disney+ series ‘The Mandalorian,’ exceeded initial weekend expectations. However, its numbers are on the low end compared to other Disney-era ‘Star Wars’ releases. It aligns more closely with the ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ performance, which earned $103 million during its four-day Memorial Day debut in 2018 but was seen as a box office failure.

The cost to produce ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ was lower, at an estimated $165 million, compared to ‘Solo’s’ $300 million budget. This potentially sets a more achievable path toward profitability, bolstered by positive audience responses. While critics offered mixed to negative feedback, giving it a 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, general audiences awarded the film an A- CinemaScore. Notably, boys under 13 rated it highly, with an A CinemaScore and a perfect five on PostTrak. Parents also gave it a top score.

Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie stars Pedro Pascal as the bounty hunter and follows him and Grogu on a mission to save Jabba’s son, Rotta the Hutt, voiced by Jeremy Allen White. The film’s dual presence in theaters and streaming complements its origin as a Disney+ series. This is the first ‘Star Wars’ film since ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ debuted in December 2019.

As the ‘Star Wars’ brand transitions under new leadership by Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, the industry watches to see if theatrical interest wanes. Disney’s high expectations for next year’s ‘Star Wars: Starfighter,’ starring Ryan Gosling, will further test this. Meanwhile, strong audience reactions suggest ongoing enthusiasm.

“The moviegoers rule,” said Paul Dergarabedian from Comscore. “With positive scores from both kids and parents, this film is likely in for a long success.”

Word-of-mouth proved beneficial for other releases this weekend. ‘Obsession,’ a horror film from Curry Barker, bucked the norm by improving its box office figures by 30% in its second weekend. The Focus Features movie earned $22.4 million from 2,655 theaters, with an anticipated $28.2 million by Monday, bringing its total to $58.5 million.

‘Michael,’ a biopic about Michael Jackson, achieved third place with $20 million over three days and a cumulative $782.4 million. ‘Passenger,’ featuring Melissa Leo, had a modest opening of $8.7 million from 2,534 locations, with expected four-day earnings of $10.5 million despite poor reviews.

Boots Riley’s film ‘I Love Boosters’ opened to $3.7 million, featuring Keke Palmer and Demi Moore. While this year’s Memorial Day weekend films did well, they couldn’t match the previous year’s record set by ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.’ This year’s total is around $211 million, down from last year’s $330 million, yet an improvement over 2024’s 30-year low.

The domestic box office top ten, as estimated from Friday through Sunday, includes:

• ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,’ $82 million.
• ‘Obsession,’ $22.4 million.
• ‘Michael,’ $20 million.
• ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ $12.6 million.
• ‘The Sheep Detectives,’ $9 million.
• ‘Passenger,’ $8.7 million.
• ‘Mortal Kombat II,’ $6.2 million.
• ‘I Love Boosters,’ $3.7 million.
• ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,’ $3.2 million.
• ‘Project Hail Mary,’ $2.7 million.