‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Just Set a Star Wars Record Disney Won’t Be Celebrating
The new Star Wars film The Mandalorian and Grogu is struggling at the box office after a weak third weekend in theaters. The movie dropped about 59% compared to its second weekend and fell out of the domestic top five.
The film is directed by Jon Favreau and continues the story from the Disney+ series of the same name. It stars Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian and Sigourney Weaver in a new role as Colonel Ward. Even with strong brand power, the movie is not performing like earlier Star Wars releases.
Over its opening Memorial Day weekend, the movie made about 98 million dollars in the United States. That number is lower than some past Star Wars openings and even slightly under the 103 million dollars made by Solo: A Star Wars Story during its Memorial Day debut years ago. Industry outlets like Deadline described the opening as soft for such a major franchise.
Things got worse in the second weekend. The film dropped about 69% from its first weekend earnings. That kind of fall is usually seen as a sign of weak word of mouth or strong competition from new releases. Now in its third weekend, the decline continues, with estimates pointing to around 10 million dollars earned in that frame. That pushes its total domestic earnings to about 155.8 million dollars so far, according to projections shared by Deadline and reported by Forbes.
The budget also makes the situation more noticeable. The film reportedly cost around 165 million dollars to produce, and marketing added at least another 100 million dollars, based on The Hollywood Reporter. That means the movie needs very strong global performance to become profitable, which is now uncertain.
Competition is also playing a big role. New releases are taking attention away from the Star Wars film. Paramount’s new Scary Movie reboot and Amazon’s MGM Studios’ Masters of the Universe are both drawing strong opening numbers. Scary Movie is projected to open around 55 million dollars, while Masters of the Universe is tracking near 29 million dollars for its debut weekend.
At the same time, smaller films are doing surprisingly well. A24’s horror project Backrooms continues to hold steady despite a sharp drop in its second weekend. It is still expected to pass 130 million dollars in total domestic earnings, according to Variety.
Even more surprising is the success of the low-budget film Obsession from Focus Features. Made for under one million dollars, it has grown steadily each week instead of dropping. Reports say it may reach over 150 million dollars domestically, which is a rare result in today’s box office.
Another new competitor is The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act, a feature tied to a popular YouTube series. Distributed by Fathom Events, it is projected to earn nearly 20 million dollars in its opening weekend from over 2,000 theaters in North America.
Overall, the data shows a crowded box office where even huge franchises like Star Wars are facing strong pressure. The Mandalorian’s big-name cast and brand power are not enough to guarantee steady performance, especially with so many new films attracting different audiences at the same time.
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