The Mandalorian and Grogu is a Box Office Bomb, Plain and Simple
After another sluggish weekend, The Mandalorian and Grogu is staring down a tougher climb to profitability. Jon Favreau’s May 22 theatrical release—led by Pedro Pascal and featuring Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White—kept sliding, raising fresh doubts that this galaxy-spanning spin-off can summon the box office force it needs.
If you were hoping The Mandalorian and Grogu might magically turn into a box office sensation in its second or third week, I’ve got some bad news: the numbers aren’t just bad, they’re falling off a cliff. Even if you’re only half paying attention, the latest figures tell a pretty rough story.
Another Grim Weekend – And It’s Not Getting Better
Let’s not mince words – the latest weekend haul for The Mandalorian and Grogu was only $10 million in the US, per Box Office Mojo. That’s after it pulled in $24 million last weekend, itself a whopping 70 percent drop after its Memorial Day start. Now it’s fallen another 59 percent. There’s a pattern here, and it’s not a cheerful one.
How It Started vs. How It’s Going
- Opening weekend (US): $81 million – which, for a Star Wars film, is on the feeble side. It’s actually the worst domestic opening for the franchise, ever. The previous runner-up was Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018, and that at least had the excuse of being a film nobody asked for.
- First international total: $63 million.
- Current worldwide total: $293 million.
- Production budget: $165 million, and they reportedly threw another $100 million at marketing. To reach break-even, analysts reckon it needs to bring in $500-600 million. You don’t need to be a Jedi accountant to see why the odds are not in their favour.
- For comparison: Solo made $392 million worldwide, but that film cost $275 million to make. So even underperforming Star Wars movies have previously done better in relative terms.
Big Names, Big Budget, Big Problem
On paper, The Mandalorian and Grogu should have boxed a lot cleverer – Jon Favreau in charge, Pedro Pascal leading, Sigourney Weaver popping in, and Jeremy Allen White along for the ride. You’d think packing this much talent into a Star Wars film would get bums in seats. But as it stands, it’s being absolutely battered by new releases – you’ve got Masters of the Universe, Backrooms, Obsession, and even Scary Movie to contend with. Not the classic class of blockbusters, but apparently enough to put a squeeze on a supposedly safe franchise.
‘The Numbers Are Not With Them’
Somebody involved with this film must be hoping for a turnaround, but let’s be honest, making up that sort of gap at the box office very rarely happens after a start like this. As of now, The Mandalorian and Grogu is on track to be not just a disappointing Star Wars instalment, but potentially the lowest-grossing one yet. If there’s a twist ending coming for this film, it’s going to need more than a few cameos to save it.