{"id":2426174,"date":"2026-05-21T10:10:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T10:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2426174"},"modified":"2026-05-21T10:10:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T10:10:36","slug":"can-disney-recapture-the-force-with-the-mandalorian-and-grogu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/can-disney-recapture-the-force-with-the-mandalorian-and-grogu\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Disney recapture the Force with ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After a 6\u00bd-year hiatus from theaters, \u201cStar Wars\u201d returns to the big screen this weekend with \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time around, however, the franchise faces a much different universe than it did in 2019 when the last film came out. For one, theatrical attendance has fallen dramatically<\/a> since \u201cStar Wars: Episode IX \u2014 The Rise of Skywalker\u201d grossed more than $1 billion worldwide in the pre-pandemic days.<\/p>\n

Then, there\u2019s Walt Disney Co.-owned Lucasfilm\u2019s own trajectory. In the last few years, new \u201cStar Wars\u201d stories have come only via streaming series on Disney+. And since the service debuted in 2019, the San Francisco-based studio pumped out 13 shows, including \u201cThe Mandalorian,\u201d which inspired the film, though others received mixed reviews. Lucasfilm is also under new leadership, as veterans Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan are now co-presidents after George Lucas\u2019 handpicked successor, Kathleen Kennedy, stepped down this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It all adds up to a crucial question: Can the nearly 50-year-old franchise still delight its longtime fans, while bringing in new viewers to help it endure?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot riding on this,\u201d said Jeff Bock, box-office analyst at entertainment data and research firm Exhibitor Relations. \u201cIt\u2019s close to a make-or-break strategic test … just to see if the modern \u2018Star Wars\u2019 is still viable theatrically.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d is expected to gross around $80 million in the U.S. and Canada for the four-day Memorial Day weekend, according to studio estimates.<\/p>\n

That would rank among some of the top openings this year<\/a>, including Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d ($80.5 million) and Disney-owned 20th Century Studios\u2019 \u201cThe Devil Wears Prada 2\u201d ($76.7 million)<\/a>. Another big sci-fi installment, Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Entertainment\u2019s \u201cDune: Part Two,\u201d opened to $82.5 million in 2024.<\/p>\n

But for a \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie, that\u2019s considered low.<\/p>\n

2019\u2019s \u201cThe Rise of Skywalker,\u201d for example, opened to $177 million, with 2015\u2019s \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d and 2017\u2019s \u201cThe Last Jedi\u201d each debuting to more than $200 million. The $84-million opening for 2018\u2019s \u201cSolo: A Star Wars Story\u201d was considered a disappointment<\/a> at the box office.<\/p>\n

To be sure, theatrical expectations have changed dramatically since the pandemic, which altered moviegoers\u2019 habits and trained many to wait and watch films at home. \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d also stems from a streaming series and does not continue the story line of the traditional \u201cStar Wars\u201d saga films that follow the Skywalker family. (The movie\u2019s reported production budget of $166 million also makes it cheaper than its predecessors.)<\/p>\n

And for Disney, box-office revenue will not be the only indicator of this film\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

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Director Jon Favreau, left, and Pedro Pascal on the set of Lucasfilm\u2019s \u201cStar Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Nicola Goode \/ Lucasfilm Ltd. \/ Disney via Associated Press)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

The company expects the movie will boost other parts of its business, including streaming, its gaming collaboration with Fortnite and the all-important theme parks, where the film\u2019s main characters appear at the Star Wars: Galaxy\u2019s Edge-themed land, and the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride has been overlaid with a \u201cMandalorian and Grogu\u201d storyline.<\/p>\n

Then of course, there\u2019s merchandise. (Famously, fans rushed to buy items<\/a> of Grogu \u2014 known colloquially as Baby Yoda \u2014 after \u201cThe Mandalorian\u201d show debuted in 2019, though products didn\u2019t arrive for months. Once available, 13 million Grogu toys were sold in the two years after they were released, Disney has said.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not using cinema in the way \u2018Star Wars\u2019 used cinema before,\u201d said Carmelo Esterrich, a professor at the school of communication and culture at Columbia College Chicago, who has written about how \u201cStar Wars\u201d is a reflection of American culture. \u201cIt\u2019s using the franchise of television and the power machine of Grogu to bring it to the big screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

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