Key Points
The Mandalorian and Grogu has made Star Wars history with the lowest opening weekend in the franchise to date.
The record was previously held by the 2018 spinoff, Solo: A Star Wars story.
Meanwhile, Michael is still making major gains while Obsession celebrated a sophomore weekend more successful than its debut.
The love for Baby Yoda may be strong as ever but that doesn’t mean it translates into movie theater foot traffic.
The Mandalorian and Grogu has brought Star Wars fans back to the big screen for the first time in seven years. But has it brought enough of them? The space adventure did manage to win the holiday weekend snagging the No. 1 spot at the Memorial Day box office with an estimated gross domestic cume of $100 million for the four-day frame, per box office tracker Comscore.
But let’s put that performance into perspective: Back in 2017, Solo: A Star Wars Story opened $103 million over the Memorial Day holiday. Compared to the massive success of prior entries in the franchise, the critically-panned film opened to the worst debut weekend for a Star Wars movie since Disney bought the franchise in 2012. But that title now goes to The Mandalorian and Grogu.
The situation isn’t wholly dire. The film, a feature-length continuation of Disney+ series The Mandalorian, reportedly cost only $165 million to produce which is notably much less than prior Star Wars films. With the addition of its global earnings — an additional $63 million, bringing its global tally to $163 million — Mando is well on its way to exceeding that number.
Din Djarin and Grogu in ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’
Credit: courtesy of Lucasfilm
Another positive: Mando is going down well with audiences. Despite a 62% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is at an 89% approval on the website’s user-generated Popcornmeter.
The film stars Pedro Pascal as the armor-clad adventurer and bounty hunter Din Djarin who is joined by his Force-wielding apprentice Grogu on a quest to apprehend an Imperial warlord and rescue Rotta the Hutt, the long-lost son of iconic Star Wars villain Jabba the Hutt. Produced by Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, and Ian Bryce, the film also stars Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White.
Elsewhere, the supernatural horror-thriller Obsession celebrated a sophomore outing ever more successful than its debut. After earning $16 million in its premiere weekend, the Curry Barker-helmed film about a wish-gone-wrong nearly doubled its earnings by picking up $30 million domestically across the four-day weekend. This brings its domestic tally to $60 million while globally, the film has earned $73.9 million.
Antoine Fuqua’s jukebox biopic Michael stayed hot on the heels of the horror pic despite being five weeks into its theatrical run. Michael picked up $26.9 million domestically during the holiday weekend, for a tally of $32 million. Globally, the movie keeps on climbing and has now earned $782.4 million.
Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston in ‘Obsession’
Credit: Focus Features /Courtesy Everett Collection
The film about the life of Michael Jackson has been shattering box office records since its debut and isn’t slowing down. As the film nears the $800 million mark, it has now claimed its place as the second highest-grossing music biopic of all time, behind 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody (which capped off at $902.6 million).
Coming in at fourth is the star-studded fashion comedy, The Devil Wears Prada 2, which earned $16.5 million in domestic markets for an impressive $200 million domestic tally. The nostalgic sequel, which reunites Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, and Stanley Tucci, has generated $604 million globally.
Rounding out fifth is The Sheep Detectives, a heartfelt box office surprise that is capturing the hearts of theatergoers with its sentimental approach to *checks notes* a flock of sheep solving the murder of their shepherd. The film picked up an additional $12.8 million, bringing its domestic earnings to $47 million. Globally, the film has achieved $82.2 million.
Next weekend, Obsession may face some competition when it comes to holding the attention of horror fans. Backrooms arrives in theaters Friday, another buzzy horror film that hails from an internet star-turned-horror director and boasts a mysterious premise.
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The film from YouTuber Kane Parsons follows a therapist who, after her patient goes missing in a mysterious alternate dimension, ventures into the endless maze of empty, yellow, fluorescent-lit rooms for herself.
Parsons first explored the concept with his web series, The Backrooms: Found Footage, which was inspired by a 2019 creepypasta photo of what appears to be never-ending vacant office space. The film has been steadily building hype as fans await its post-Memorial Day release.
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