When The Mandalorian and Grogu opened, it underperformed, especially for a Star Wars film. After all, it is Star Wars, and in the Disney era, it's a franchise that has produced several hits that have grossed at least a billion dollars. I argued that, despite its relatively modest opening weekend, The Mandalorian and Grogu was a box office triumph for Star Wars. Perhaps I was overly optimistic.
In its second weekend in theaters, Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian and Grogu saw a colossal $70.1 million drop from its debut, grossing just $24.4 million and falling to third place. This makes it the biggest second-weekend drop in Star Wars history, bigger than Solo ($6.5 million) and even bigger than the critically panned Clone Wars animated film ($6.1 million). Even the controversial Rise of Skywalker only lost $59.1 million in its second weekend. In short? Not so good.
Favreau's film version of The Mandalorian finished behind Behind the Scenes ($81.4 million) and Obsession ($27.4 million), two horror films that led to one of the biggest box office weekends in history. This was largely because both films eclipsed the new Star Wars film, the first in nearly seven years. Just a few weeks ago, this would have been unthinkable.
The only good news is that "Mando and Baby Yoda" performed well overseas in its second weekend, grossing $27.8 million. Star Wars films are typically heavily focused on the domestic market. To date, the film has earned $246.9 million worldwide against a reported budget of $165 million. It's not a complete flop, but depending on how things unfold, it could be. This presents Disney with a very serious challenge.
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Can The Mandalorian and Grogu regain their former glory at the box office?
Grogu meditates on a log in The Mandalorian and Grogu — Lucasfilm
«The Mandalorian and Grog face a tough fight for box office profitability. Solo: A Star Wars Story only grossed $393 million worldwide, but its budget ballooned to nearly $300 million, and it initially received mediocre reviews. The difference is that the latest Star Wars film is very family-friendly, and while critics were mixed, it received very good ratings from audiences. There's at least a chance it will recover in the coming weeks, especially given that Masters of the Universe looks like it could flop at the box office.
At best, the film could end up like The Lego Movie ($257 million domestic/$468 million worldwide). That would happen if it avoids another box office slump and finds a family audience, along with additional overseas support. It could also end up closer to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ($171 million domestic/$397 million worldwide). On the other hand, we're getting another Planet of the Apes movie, so is that a fate worse than death?
Box office grosses of $500 million or more are now completely out of reach. Of course, the bar was always set low, as this was a television series turned into a film, not a typical Star Wars film. However, no matter how much Baby Yoda merchandise is sold, it will be difficult to gross anything less than $400 million at the box office, which would be a success for this legendary franchise.
Disney and Lucasfilm can only hope that Star Wars: Starfighter (which features no characters from previous films) will be a bigger hit next summer. Perhaps something truly new from a galaxy far, far away will prove more appealing. In any case, Star Wars is far from flawless, that much has already become abundantly clear.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is now in theaters.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.