The Mandalorian box office numbers are finally here, and it has delivered one of the most debated openings in modern Star Wars history. After years away from theaters, Lucasfilm returned to the big screen with a movie built around Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu, earning roughly $100 million during the Memorial Day holiday frame and more than $160 million worldwide. While those totals are impressive for most franchises, The Mandalorian & Grogu also posted the lowest opening for a Disney-era Star Wars film, creating major discussion about the future of the franchise, streaming-to-theater audiences, and whether Star Wars can still dominate the global box office the way it once did. For more on the film’s massive theatrical rollout, check out our coverage of Epic Mandalorian & Grogu Trailer Signals an Amazing IMAX Return and Disney Defends Surprising New Mandalorian & Grogu Super Bowl Spot.
The Opening Weekend Numbers
Now let’s look at the numbers. Disney’s latest Lucasfilm title, this weekend’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, opened with $81M 3-day and 4-day $100M in the U.S. Internationally, it pulled in $163M worldwide with $63M from 51 offshore territories. That’s lower than Solo’s domestic start. That movie was terrible, but there was hope it would do well on opening weekend.
PLF (Premium Large Format) brought in 53% of the total box office for the most recent Star Wars flick. This includes a $12M 3-Day and $14.8M 4-Day in the IMAX format. Almost half of the film was shot in that format. IMAX is projecting a $25.8M global haul for Mando. So this is a huge win for IMAX and Dolby.
Why the Opening Looks Good and Bad
First, the good news. It was a brilliant move on Disney’s part to open on Memorial Day weekend. Families looking for something to do took advantage of the cool movie theater this blistering hot weekend. It performed slightly lower than Sunday’s estimates of $102 million for the four-day frame, which includes $81 million over the traditional weekend. Plus, it opened above Solo: A Star Wars Story, which only pulled in $84 mil domestically on its opening weekend. Fans spent months dissecting the movie’s footage and hidden reveals, including us in our article breaking down The Mandalorian & Grogu Trailer.
Now the bad news. It’s the lowest-grossing opening for a live-action Star Wars film. If you account for inflation, it performs worse. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens opened for a massive $247 mil in the US. So this is one of the smallest openings for the franchise.
Did Disney Expect Bigger Numbers?
But is this what the studio expected? Pre-release tracking services showed The Mandalorian and Grogu opening to roughly $82 million at the domestic box office for the four days. So it’s better than expected.
The marketing campaign for The Mandalorian and Grogu pivoted heavily on brand recognition and the immense cultural appeal of Grogu to drive box office returns. Despite early criticism of the trailers for lacking plot clarity, the multi-million dollar promotional push successfully secured a strong $102 million domestic opening weekend. The film benefits from decades of Star Wars mythology, including legendary antagonists featured in our list of the 25 Greatest and Ruthless Star Wars Villains of All-Time.
Disney will definitely be selling more Grogu plush toys. To the Mouse House, that’s where the real money is anyway. Plus, there’s a chance the movie could pull more subscriptions to Disney+ from people who are looking to binge-watch the show. Evaluating the true financial success of The Mandalorian and Grogu box office means looking beyond ticket sales to the merchandise machine, which officially spun up in January when Hasbro announced a massive lineup of upcoming Star Wars figures.
Why Lucasfilm May Still Be Happy
It’s not the huge opening that previous films have had. But the production budget for The Mandalorian and Grogu is much lower than previous films like Solo. Strong audience scores could drive the movie to fight off competition from other big movies opening in the next few weekends.
Disney and Lucasfilm can high-five like Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob this weekend. I’m sure they have visions of Star Wars merchandise flying off the shelf and fans pouring into the theme parks like a Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory tour.
Can the Movie Have Strong Legs?
The question is whether the movie tickets will keep flying over the next few weeks. While critics are lukewarm on the film, Rotten Tomatoes audience score shows that moviegoers are enjoying the new Star Wars movie. There’s a good chance the buzz will get butts in seats over the next few months.
Unfortunately, The Mandalorian and Grogu faces some stiff competition. Michael and Devil Wears Prada 2 are still going strong. Even Disney’s own Hoppers is still holding screen time. Speaking of Disney, they’re releasing Toy Story 5 in a few weeks on June 19. The Death of Robin Hood (June 19) and Warner Bros’ Supergirl opens next month (June 26)
Overall, it looks like they should be able to hold the family audience for a few weeks, and it may just make it to a billion, which is the goal of every movie these days.
The international market looks good because there’s very little dialogue, and it’s easy to dub. If nothing else, it proves jumping from streaming to the theater works. Also, it should build momentum for Star Wars: Starfighter coming next year. While early tracking places the film on the lower end of Disney-era theatrical releases, it remains to be seen where it will ultimately land on our definitive Star Wars movie ranking list.
The Mandalorian & Grogu may not have delivered the explosive opening some fans predicted, but the movie’s box office story is far from a disaster. The film still topped the Memorial Day weekend charts, generated strong worldwide revenue, and proved there is still audience interest in theatrical Star Wars. The real test will be whether the movie can maintain momentum over the coming weeks and build enough long-term revenue to launch a new era of theatrical adventures for Lucasfilm. For more on Lucasfilm’s plans, read Star Wars: Starfighter Director Shawn Levy Explains How the Movie Is a Breakthrough.
Join in the Discussion
Do you think The Mandalorian & Grogu underperformed, or are critics being too harsh on the box office numbers? Share your thoughts in the comments and spread this article on social media to keep the Star Wars debate going.
