Star Wars Movie Draws Good Crowd, Faces Industry Questions

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May 24, 2026
Entertainment

The latest Star Wars film, ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,’ returned to theaters after nearly seven years. Despite not achieving record-breaking figures, it attracted a respectable audience. Studio estimates indicate the film earned $82 million in ticket sales across 4,300 theaters in the United States and Canada over the weekend. By the end of Monday’s Memorial Day holiday, revenues are expected to hit $102 million domestically and $165 million globally.

The movie’s performance exceeded initial expectations as it continues the story from the Disney+ series ‘The Mandalorian.’ However, it remains on the lower side of Disney-era Star Wars releases. Comparatively, ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ brought in $103 million during the same holiday frame in 2018, yet faced criticism as a financial disappointment. ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ benefitted from a more modest production budget, reportedly $165 million, excluding marketing and promotion costs, making its path to profitability more achievable. Positive audience scores bolster this further. While critics gave mixed to negative reviews, rating it 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences responded favorably, with an A- CinemaScore overall. Notably, boys under 13 awarded an A grade and perfect scores on PostTrak. Parents echoed this sentiment with perfect scores.

Directed by Jon Favreau, ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ features Pedro Pascal reprising his role as the titular bounty hunter on a mission with his diminutive companion to rescue Jabba’s son, Rotta the Hutt, voiced by Jeremy Allen White.

The film’s release occurs during a transitional phase for the Star Wars brand under new leaders Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. Earlier this year, Lucasfilm announced that Kathleen Kennedy, a producer of ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu,’ would step down after 13 years. The industry’s main question is whether interest in Star Wars movies has waned slightly. Next year’s launch of ‘Star Wars: Starfighter,’ starring Ryan Gosling, may provide more insight.

Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore believes strong audience enthusiasm could drive word-of-mouth momentum in the film’s favor. He noted, ‘The moviegoers rule.’

Meanwhile, ‘Obsession,’ a horror movie by Curry Barker, defied usual box office trends by improving its second-week earnings by 30%, reaching $22.4 million across 2,655 theaters. Dergarabedian commented on its success, highlighting social media’s role among younger viewers in enhancing its appeal.

Focus Features acquired ‘Obsession’ for approximately $15 million, with projections to make $28.2 million by the end of Memorial Day, totaling $58.5 million. It secured the second-place spot, while ‘Michael,’ a biopic of Michael Jackson, landed third with $20 million over the weekend. The film’s cumulative earnings now stand at $782.4 million.

‘Obsession’ outperformed the horror movie ‘Passenger,’ featuring Melissa Leo, which grossed an estimated $8.7 million from 2,534 locations, with expectations to reach $10.5 million during its initial four days. Critics and audiences rated it poorly, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 44% and a B- CinemaScore.

An opening this weekend,’Boots Riley’s ‘I Love Boosters,’ featuring Keke Palmer and Demi Moore, earned $3.7 million. This year’s Memorial Day mix fell short of last year’s record earnings, led by Disney’s ‘Lilo & Stitch’ live-action and ‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.’ This year’s holiday weekend yielded approximately $211 million, a 36% decrease from the previous year’s $330 million total. However, it avoided a bottom-of-the-barrel performance like the 2024 Memorial Day low, when ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ launched.

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