Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu brought in an estimated $165 million at the global box office during the four-day Memorial Day holiday. $102 million came domestically and $63 million internationally.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first new Star Wars movie to hit theaters since the divisive Rise of Skywalker came out in 2019, and following a near seven year period of Disney+ shows, including The Mandalorian itself. So, all eyes were on its box office numbers as a reference point for the relevancy of the Star Wars franchise in 2026.
To put its performance into perspective, Solo: A Star Wars Story, which lost money during its theatrical run, made $103 million domestically (not adjusted for inflation) during its four-day Memorial Day opening back in 2018. So, in North America, The Mandalorian and Grogu had the worst opening for a Star Wars movie since Disney bought the franchise in 2012 — but only just.
However, there is a degree of positivity around Baby Yoda’s big screen adventure. According to Variety, The Mandalorian and Grogu cost just $165 million to produce — much less than prior Star Wars films — although marketing costs must be considered on top. And Mando is going down well with audiences, with 89% on Rotten Tomatoes’ user-generated Popcornmeter.
Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co, reacted to the opening weekend numbers, telling Reuters: “What Disney really wants this film to do is stabilize the Star Wars universe. I think this helps do that.
The big question now is how The Mandalorian and Grogu does in its second, third, and fourth weekends at theaters. Solo ended up with $392.9 million globally, not adjusted for inflation, and was considered a flop for a Star Wars film. Will The Mandalorian and Grogu end up beating it?
Either way, Lucasfilm reportedly believes next year’s Star Wars: Starfighter has a better chance of reviving the franchise. Star Wars: Starfighter, which stars Ryan Gosling and is set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, is directed by Deadpool & Wolverine’s Shawn Levy.
Eric Handler, senior media analyst at Roth Capital Partners, recently told Variety that Lucasfilm is struggling to get young people into Star Wars to the same extent it so effortlessly managed with previous generations — despite the emergence of Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, as a merchandise monster. “There’s clearly interest in the brand,” Handler said. “But revenues for each film have gotten progressively lower. Star Wars isn’t resonating with younger moviegoers like it did for [older] generations.”
IGN’s The Mandalorian and Grogu review returned a 5/10. We said: “If you’re looking for a Star Wars movie that thrills, surprises, challenges, or demonstrates a vested interest in seeing its characters grow and change… The Mandalorian and Grogu is not the way.”
Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Disney.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
