After a seven-year theatrical hiatus, The Mandalorian and Grogu helped bring Star Wars back to the top of the box office over Memorial Day weekend, debuting with $82 million domestically and $145 million worldwide.
According to Dick Walsh’s latest Screendollars Weekend Update, the overall Memorial Day frame generated $174.2 million across all films. While that number trails last year’s record-setting holiday weekend driven by Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, analysts note this year’s results remain largely in line with historical holiday averages.
The performance of The Mandalorian and Grogu is being closely watched across Hollywood, not just because it marks the first theatrical Star Wars release since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but because it represents Disney’s latest attempt to recalibrate one of the most valuable franchises in entertainment.
The report argues that Disney’s biggest mistake with Star Wars was frequency. Between 2015 and 2019, the studio released four films in five years, leading to what many viewed as franchise fatigue. After shelving theatrical releases for nearly seven years, Disney pivoted heavily toward Disney+ series including The Mandalorian, Andor, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Now, Disney appears to be reversing course again by using successful streaming properties as launchpads for theatrical films.
Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Pedro Pascal alongside Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White. Originally developed as a fourth season of The Mandalorian before the Hollywood strikes reshaped Disney’s strategy, the film became Lucasfilm’s bridge between streaming and theatrical storytelling.
The production reportedly cost $165 million, considerably less than recent Star Wars theatrical installments.
Critical response has been mixed, currently at 62% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audience reception has been much stronger, with an 89% audience score.
Elsewhere at the box office, Focus Features’ breakout horror hit Obsession continued its impressive run with a 30% second weekend increase, bringing its domestic total to $52.8 million against a reported $1 million budget.
The report highlights the film’s viral marketing campaign, which included eerie billboard installations featuring phone numbers tied to unsettling messages from a character named Nikki. The grassroots strategy helped turn the film into one of the year’s strongest indie horror success stories.
Meanwhile, Michael continued its dominant theatrical run, earning another $20 million in its fifth weekend and climbing to $782.3 million worldwide.
During Lionsgate’s earnings call, executives confirmed that development is underway on a sequel, revealing that roughly “25% to 30%” of a second film has already been shot.
Disney also scored another major win with The Devil Wears Prada 2, which crossed $604 million worldwide in just 24 days.
The report notes, however, that assembling a third installment may prove difficult given the increasingly packed schedules of stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci.
The overall 2026 domestic box office remains up 16% over 2025, with analysts pointing to major upcoming releases, including Supergirl, The Odyssey, Spider-Man: A Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, and Dune: Part Three, as potential summer and holiday box-office juggernauts.
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