Grogu made it to the big screen, and the numbers are complicated. The Mandalorian and Grogu opened to $82 million over the weekend and an estimated $102 million through Memorial Day Monday, according to Variety, for $145 million globally over three days. That is the lowest Star Wars start since Disney bought the franchise in 2012, slightly below Solo: A Star Wars Story’s $84 million weekend and $103 million four-day in 2018, not adjusted for inflation.
The figures moved as the weekend wore on. The film’s $33 million Friday was a series low, below Solo’s opening day, per The Hollywood Reporter, but Saturday walk-up business from families beat Solo. By Monday and Tuesday the estimate had been trimmed to about $100 million, and Deadline’s Tuesday number is $81 million over three days and $98 million over four.
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Context matters. Solo cost close to $300 million, and Mandalorian and Grogu’s net budget is $165 million. Audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore, the same grade as Solo, plus a franchise-best 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, while critics were cooler (62% on Rotten Tomatoes, per THR). Jon Favreau directed, and Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and the green sidekick pick up after Season 3 of the Disney+ series.
The crowd skewed young, too, and that is the story IndieWire tells: families, not fanboys. Under-18 viewers made up 11% of Thursday’s audience but 25% over the weekend, and they rated it an A. IMAX and other premium screens were 52% of ticket sales, and IMAX has booked it for three weekends. Variety’s David A. Gross sees a reason to relax:
For ‘Star Wars’ not to be hurt in any obvious way by its long detour onto streaming is good news for the franchise,
David A. Gross, FranchiseRe, Variety
Deadline is more blunt about the movie’s weaknesses. Admissions of about 5 million are well below Lilo & Stitch’s 10.5 million last Memorial Day, and its exit polls found 39% of viewers want to watch it again for free or on streaming, versus 38% who say they will go again in cinemas. The site calls it “sheer bungling” to adapt a streaming show for the big screen, but says Disney will make it back in other ways. That includes toys (the franchise sells about $1 billion a year at retail), the Millennium Falcon ride at Disneyland and a $100 million promotional campaign with partners like Burger King and Coca-Cola.
Internationally the film opened with $64 million for a global start of $145 million over three days, and Gross notes Star Wars has never been especially strong overseas. The holiday was strong overall: Variety counts $221 million across all films for the four-day weekend, helped by holdovers like Michael and the horror hit Obsession.
The next test is the second weekend, which will show whether the film is a family breakout or a one-time fan event. Lucasfilm already has a follow-up lined up: Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, is set for Memorial Day weekend 2027, and Variety says studio insiders see it as a possible fresh start for the franchise. Gosling comes to it fresh from Project Hail Mary.
- Opening weekend, May 22–24, 2026
- $82 million domestic over three days (estimate), about $102 million over four; $145 million worldwide over three days
- Audience
- A- CinemaScore; 89% Rotten Tomatoes audience score (THR, IndieWire)
- Budget
- $165 million net, against about $300 million for *Solo* (Deadline)
Sources
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
