The Mandalorian And Grogu, the latest film in the Star Wars franchise, hit theaters on Friday, and the opening weekend box office numbers marked a new low.
With the Pedro Pascal-led feature earning $82 million in its opening weekend, it’s the worst Star Wars opening since Disney acquired it in 2012, according to Variety.
However, it will bring in an estimated $102 million through Memorial Day.
And The Wrap reported it will rake in an estimated $165 million worldwide.
The Mandalorian And Grogu follows 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, which opened to $84 million over its first weekend – or $112 million after adjusting for inflation, per Fox News.
By that calculation, The Mandalorian came in $30 million under its predecessor in its opening weekend.
The Mandalorian And Grogu, the latest film in the Star Wars franchise, hit theaters on Friday, and the opening weekend box office numbers marked a new low
With the Pedro Pascal-led feature earning $82 million in its opening weekend, it’s the worst Star Wars opening since Disney acquired it in 2012
Solo’s Memorial Day gross was $103 million, or $139 after adjusting for inflation, setting the Mandalorian $37 million behind it.
The latest Star Wars production cost about $165 million and currently has a 62% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 89% audience score.
Read More
EXCLUSIVE Catherine Zeta-Jones, 56, and husband Michael Douglas, 81, ‘so proud’ as nepo baby daughter Carys, 23, follows in their footsteps after landing lead role in New York play
The Jon Favreau-directed film stars Pascal, 51, as the enigmatic Din Djarin, aka The Mandalorian.
It sees Djarin reunite with loyal ward Grogu, an infant member of the same alien race as Yoda.
Ahead of its theatrical release last week, the movie received terrible reviews.
The Times gave it one star, dismissing Favreau’s offering as the final nail in the Star Wars coffin.
‘You wouldn’t leave a dying dog like this,’ wrote Kevin Maher. ‘But that’s what Star Wars has become. Putting it down would be a mercy killing.’
Meanwhile, The Telegraph awarded two stars, while delivering a proportionately scathing review.
The latest Star Wards production cost about $165 million and currently has a 62% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 89% audience score
‘Disney has been trying to turn Star Wars into another Marvel-like franchise for some time,’ wrote Robbie Collin. ‘And in that respect The Mandalorian and Grogu is a roaring success, insofar as it feels like a skippable new episode in a soap opera you lost interest in years ago…’
In another two star review, The Independent criticized Favreau for an over-reliance on CGI effects: ‘As much as little Grogu, with his fuzzy, twitchy ears and chubby-cheeked smile, remains a slam dunk on the cuteness scale, Favreau has reduced him here more to strategy than character – something to cut to when the characters have run out of things to say.
‘What ingenuity there is in the practical puppet work is undercut by how often, and jarringly so, they force him to interact with fully CGI characters. With The Mandalorian And Grogu, Star Wars has lost all sense of wonder.’
The Hollywood Reporter offered a more enthusiastic response, describing the film as an ‘exciting and entertaining fast-paced space adventure’ that ‘looks and feels like a Star Wars movie.’
But the publication criticized its shaky plot, adding: ‘It still feels stubbornly small in its relatively inconsequential storyline and themes.
‘It’s hard to imagine anyone experiencing this as their first Star Wars film and getting hooked for life as those who saw the original trilogy in theaters did.’
