‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ falls in its second weekend at the box office, cementing Disney’s biggest losses
The news keeps getting worse for “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm, and by extension, the future of the Star Wars franchise.
It was just over a decade ago that “The Force Awakens” became the highest-grossing film, not adjusted for inflation, in US domestic box office history. Although deeply flawed and derivative, it at least tried to establish a cohesive story for the new generation of Star Wars trilogy.
It’s been forever.
As soon as “The Last Jedi” hit the theaters a few years later, it became clear that Lucasfilm, which was managed by Kathleen Kennedy at the time, did not have a coherent plan for this series. “The Last Jedi” released a large part of “The Force Awakens,” had little explanation of the plot from the first film, and treated the famous hero of the Star Wars universe. In short, a microcosm of the problems with modern filmmaking.
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The studio swung, bringing back JJ Abrams to shake things up with “The Rise of Skywalker.” Widely panned for its fictional plot, ridiculous dialogue, and inexplicable plot. Fast forward seven years, and “The Mandalorian and Grogu” hit theaters as the first Star Wars movie of the 2020s.
Sigourney Weaver, Pedro Pascal, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni, president and chief artistic officer of Lucasfilm, attended the world premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu Los Angeles on May 14, 2026. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney)
Opening weekend ticket sales were disappointing, coming in at the low end of estimates at around $81 million, with the long Memorial Day weekend far reaching for “Solo,” the last non-trilogy film in the Star Wars universe. That seems to have stopped Disney from losing a bit, or struggling to make it to the theaters.
Still, if the film had good word of mouth, a strong second week could have put “The Mandalorian and Grogu” back on track financially. With this past weekend’s box office results now, unfortunately for Disney, it was the exact opposite.
According to Box Office Mojo, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” not only dropped from the top spot in theaters, it dropped to third place due to a massive 70% drop in gross. Its opening weekend was a disappointing $81.7 million, and it dropped to $25 million from Friday to Sunday. That’s not unprecedented, but it’s certainly a disaster.
Even more surprising, the two movies that beat “The Mandalorian” were low-budget films from first-time directors. “Backrooms” is a $10 million horror film from 20-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons. It made $81.4 million in its opening weekend, slightly less than the Star Wars movie’s $175 million, despite not hitting theaters over the holiday weekend.
“Obsession” also beat “The Mandalorian,” earning an estimated $26.4 million over the weekend. That film was directed by Curry Barker, a 26-year-old who found fame on YouTube and TikTok. The production budget for “Obsession,” about $750,000, was probably less than what “The Mandalorian” spent on office supplies. It went through this past weekend anyway.
Pedro Pascal attends the world premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu Los Angeles in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 14, 2026. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
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These results also confirm that Disney will lose a lot of money on “The Mandalorian.” Reports suggested that production and marketing costs were estimated at $300 million. Even if the tax credits reduce that, the appropriate break point would be around $500 million worldwide. With $137 million domestically and a 70% drop, it won’t be close.
Another 70% drop in its third weekend would total $7.5 million, all but guaranteeing a $200 million domestic shortfall. With international earnings improving, but still under pressure, it’s possible that “The Mandalorian and Grogu” will fail to reach even $375 million worldwide. It could give Disney a $100 million+ loss. For a Star Wars movie.
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Pedro Pascal attends The Mandalorian and Grogu Los Angeles World Premiere in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 14, 2026. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Disney)
There are many lessons to be learned from this, if anyone involved is interested in learning them. Releasing lazy, uninspired movies no longer works, even if they are attached to a previously important brand name. Years of tarnishing the Star Wars legacy with terrible, unwatchable streaming series and the disappointing conclusion to the previous trilogy have taken their toll.
Young people today don’t have the same respect for Star Wars as previous generations did. Because the movies they’ve seen aren’t good enough to warrant that. Instead of ticking certain boxes and satisfying targets, focus on quality stories and memorable characters. Does anyone care about Rey, or Poe, or Finn? Of course not. But Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca remain a beloved part of film history. Under Disney and Kathleen Kennedy, they have forgotten what made Star Wars what it is. Or so it was. And as this past weekend shows, when two low-budget horror movies from YouTubers surpass a Star Wars movie, it may be too late to fix it.
