The Mandalorian And Grogu, Lucasfilm-Disney’s first Star Wars universe feature in seven years, dominated the Memorial Day holiday weekend with an estimated $102m four-day take at the North American box office.
Jon Favreau’s sci-fi adventure earned an estimated $82m from 4,300 locations over the Friday-Sunday marking the official start of summer blockbuster season – and stepped up on Saturday, when walk-in traffic defied prior, lower forecasts that were predicated on Friday’s $33m haul.
And while this is the lowest opening weekend by any Star Wars film since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 – lower even than the maligned Solo: A Star Wars Story’s $84.4m three-day and $103m four-day bow in 2018 – there are positive signs.
The Mandalorian And Grogu delivered a strong launch in raw terms for a spin-off based on a Disney+ hit series, earning an A- CinemaScore and an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, offering hope that the feature will hold well in the coming weeks.
The reported $165m production cost netted out at $144m factoring in the California tax credit, according to box office analyst FranchiseRe. While the film will not come close to the final $1.1bn final global box office of the last Star Wars feature release, 2019’s The Rise Of Skywalker, the new film’s $165m worldwide bow presents a clear path to break-even, with PVoD likely to play a big part in making the film a profitable entry in the long-running franchise. Screen will report on full international numbers in the coming days.
Disney executives reported a 63%-37% male-female audience split, with the 25-34 age bracket accounting for the biggest 23% share of ticket sales. Pedro Pascal stars as Din Djarin, the Mandalorian bounty hunter, who is tasked with protecting the young Yoda aka Grogu. Sigourney Weaver also stars and the voice cast features Martin Scorsese and Jeremy Allen White.
Obsession stuns in second weekend
Focus Features’ horror hit Obsession directed by YouTube and Instagram creator Curry Baker delivered arguably the result of the weekend, climbing one place to number two and delivering a 30% box office gain in the second session, adding $22.4m from 2,655 and an estimated $28.2m over four days to propel the running total to $58.5m.
The box office gain over last weekend’s $17.2m debut marks an outstanding accomplishment that demonstrates Obsession’s mighty word of mouth and shows further evidence of the value of a creator who brings an in-built fan base after the number launch earlier this year of Markiplier’s Iron Lung. Obsession stars Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette in the story of a young man who uses a magic charm to win the affection of his crush with terrifying consequences. The film premiered at 2025 TIFF where Focus Features snapped up North America and most international territories for approximately $15m.
Overall the total three-day weekend generated $174.2m, down 34% on last year when Disney’s Lilo & Stich opened on $182.6m in the all-time highest Memorial Day weekend bow. Year-to-date has produced $3.4bn to lead 2025 by the same stage by 14% and the scene is set for what the industry hopes will become a $4bn North American summer.
Elsewhere, Lionsgate’s independent smash Michael (-23%) in third place added $20m for $314.2m after five sessions; 20th Century Studios/Disney’s hit sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2 (-29%) in fourth earned $12.6m for $196.1m after four; and Amazon MGM Studios’ The Sheep Detectives (-6%) at number five held well in its third session on $8.9m for $43.5m after three weekends.
Paramount debuted the horror film Passengers in sixth place on $8.7m from 2,534 sites (it is projected to earn $10.5m over four days) and Neon opened its SXSW action comedy I Love Boosters from Boots Riley in eighth on $3.7m from 1,750 locations (it is projected to gross $4.6m over four).
Black Bear released the crime drama Tuner, which it financed and produced, on $102,000 from four locations, rising to an estimated $122,000 over four days. Navalny director Daniel Roher’s fictional narrative debut stars Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman and Havana Rose Liu and debuted at 2025 Telluride.
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