After nearly seven years away from the big screen, a new Star Wars movie has hit theaters, attracting a decent crowd but not breaking any records. “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” raked in $82 million in ticket sales from 4,300 theaters across the U.S. and Canada during its opening weekend. By the end of the Memorial Day holiday, it’s projected to make about $102 million domestically and around $165 million globally.
While these figures exceeded initial expectations, they are on the lower end for Disney-era Star Wars films, falling closer to “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which earned $103 million over the same four-day holiday period in 2018. However, the context of these numbers is crucial. “Solo” faced a production budget of around $300 million, while “The Mandalorian and Grogu” had a significantly lower budget of $165 million, not including marketing expenses. This makes it more likely for the latest film to turn a profit, especially given its positive audience reception.
Despite mixed reviews from critics, who gave it a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, ticket buyers rated it much more favorably, earning an A- CinemaScore. Younger audiences, particularly boys under 13, were especially enthusiastic, giving it an A CinemaScore and a perfect five on PostTrak. Parents echoed this sentiment, also rating the movie a five out of five.
Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie features Pedro Pascal as the main character, the bounty hunter, who embarks on a mission to save Jabba the Hutt’s son, Rotta, voiced by Jeremy Allen White.
The film’s performance can also be viewed through the lens of its streaming origins. Since it is a continuation of a Disney+ series, it will eventually be available on the platform, which was just starting to gain traction when the last Star Wars movie, “The Rise of Skywalker,” came out in December 2019.
Star Wars is currently experiencing a transition with new leadership, including Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, following the announcement that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy would step down after 13 years. The future of Star Wars films remains uncertain, and the industry is watching closely to see if audience interest has waned, especially with next year’s “Star Wars: Starfighter,” starring Ryan Gosling, on the horizon. In the meantime, there is hope that strong audience scores will lead to positive word-of-mouth in the coming weeks.
“The moviegoers rule,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Comscore. “I think given the audience reaction and the scores that are coming from parents and kids, this is going to be in it for the long haul.”
In contrast, the horror film “Obsession” also found success this weekend, experiencing a surprising 30% increase in ticket sales, totaling $22.4 million from 2,655 theaters, thanks to strong word-of-mouth and social media buzz.
The studio that acquired “Obsession” for around $15 million projects it will earn $28.2 million by the end of the holiday weekend, bringing its total to $58.5 million. “Obsession” secured the second spot at the box office, while the Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” came in third with $20 million, now totaling $782.4 million.
“Obsession” outperformed the new horror film “Passenger,” which grossed about $8.7 million from 2,534 theaters, expected to reach $10.5 million over the four-day weekend, despite poor reviews from critics and audiences.
Boots Riley’s quirky film “I Love Boosters” opened to $3.7 million this weekend, featuring stars Keke Palmer and Demi Moore.
Overall, this year’s Memorial Day weekend box office didn’t quite match the excitement of last year, which was led by Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.” This year is projected to total around $211 million, down about 36% from last year’s $330 million. However, it is a notable improvement compared to the disastrous 2024 Memorial Day weekend, which marked a 30-year low.
Here are the top 10 movies by domestic box office:
1. “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” $82 million.
2. “Obsession,” $22.4 million.
3. “Michael,” $20 million.
4. “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” $12.6 million.
5. “The Sheep Detectives,” $9 million.
6. “Passenger,” $8.7 million.
7. “Mortal Kombat II,” $6.2 million.
8. “I Love Boosters,” $3.7 million.
9. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” $3.2 million.
10. “Project Hail Mary,” $2.7 million.
