The Mandalorian and Grogu is hoping for a Star Wars rebound after a rough second weekend in theaters.
As the first Star Wars movie in seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu had a decent opening weekend of $81.6 million domestically and $165 million globally. Despite what seemed like a promising start, it unfortunately hit a snag with the franchise’s record-worst 70.1% drop in its second weekend and charted below indie horrors like Obsession and Backrooms.
After a box-office setback last week, The Mandalorian and Grogu managed to pass a global milestone ahead of its third weekend in theaters. According to Box Office Mojo, the Star Wars movie has now made $253 million globally. That total includes $144 million domestically and $109 million overseas.
Although The Mandalorian and Grogu has reached a key milestone, questions remain about the Disney franchise’s future. The latest installment is tracking similarly to the 2018 spinoff, Solo: A Star Wars Story, which became the lowest-grossing movie in the franchise after making just $392 million at the end of its run. It also became a commercial flop, given its $299 million budget.
Although The Mandalorian and Grogu could be following a similar trajectory, circumstances are slightly different for the spinoff. Unlike Solo‘s expensive budget, the latest Star Wars movie had a $165 million budget. In addition, it received a $21 million tax credit for filming the entire movie in California, which reduced the overall budgetary risk. However, that total is before the marketing and distribution costs, which The Hollywood Reporter reported as around $100 million.
As of writing, insiders and outlets estimated that The Mandalorian and Grogu need to make around $500 million to $600 million to break even. While that would have been doable after a decent debut, the massive second-week drop is a discouraging sign for its overall box office. Now, the movie faces additional challenges as new releases like Masters of the Universe and Scary Movie hit theaters, alongside more summer blockbusters in the subsequent weeks.
A few factors likely contributed to The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s commercial performance. The most important reason comes down to the franchise’s reputation in the last decade since Disney acquired Lucasfilm. Despite a record for The Force Awakens and a surprise hit with Rogue One, much of the sequel trilogy left a sour taste with Star Wars audiences.
Meanwhile, The Mandalorian debuted in late 2019 as part of Disney+’s streaming launch. While the first two seasons were met with positive reviews, the third installment received a mixed reception and holds a disappointing 51% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Other Star Wars series, including The Book of Boba Fett and The Acolyte, underwhelmed audiences, fueling concerns over the franchise’s reputation and quality control. However, among the exceptions was the two-season Andor, which won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.
Interestingly, The Mandalorian and Grogu was originally conceived as a season 4 of the Disney+ series that would tie back to Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett. However, that plan pivoted to a movie instead. The Mandalorian and Grogu reviews were mixed and ultimately earned a 62% on Rotten Tomatoes. As the film follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu completing a rescue mission for the New Republic, it was criticized for pacing issues, narrative structure, and a lack of cinematic feel.
However, it won over moviegoers and earned an 87% audience score on the site. Still, word-of-mouth didn’t boost its commercial performance, but The Mandalorian and Grogu has a second chance to find more audiences once it hits streaming on Disney+. As of writing, a release date has yet to be announced.
It’s unclear what lies ahead for the Star Wars franchise. There is one more movie scheduled for next year, Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Shawn Levy. While multiple movies have been in development since The Rise of Skywalker, there hasn’t been much progress for additional installments, including a Rey movie that’s still in limbo. Meanwhile, Ahsoka season 2 is the only other completed live-action series scheduled for next year, while Maul – Shadow Lord was renewed for season 2.
On the other hand, it’s unknown whether The Mandalorian characters will ever return in movies or television, but director Jon Favreau expressed interest in continuing their journey. Those decisions, however, will come down to new Lucasfilm presidents, Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, who took over the reins from Kathleen Kennedy early this year.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is now playing in theaters.
- Release Date
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May 20, 2026
- Runtime
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132 minutes
- Writers
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Noah Kloor
- Producers
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Ian Bryce, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, Karen Gilchrist, John Bartnicki