FRIDAY AFTERNOON: Lucasfilm/Disney’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is on a journey similar to the 2018 Memorial Day pic Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Friday and previews is looking like $34M for the Jon Favreau-directed feature (Solo did $35.3M), which will translate to about $80M 3-day and $90M over four days at 4,300 theaters. Some rivals believe the Pedro Pascal movie has a shot at $100M, but don’t count your Jawas yet. Solo, as we told you, opened to $84.4M 3-day, $103M 4-day. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes remains fixed at 88%.
Again, the difference between this Memorial Day and last year’s is that we don’t have two tentpole openers like a year ago WITH Lilo & Stitch (record holiday start of $182.6M) and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning ($79M). Lilo & Stitch was the anomaly, and without it, well Mandalorian and Grogu is like an above-average opening for a major studio release over the holiday; not unlike Final Reckoning.
RELATED: The 60 Movies That Have Made More Than $1 Billion At The Global Box Office
The saving grace for this net $165M production is international but also merchandise. Disney hopes that the Force is with it for a global debut of $160M.
Demos on Thursday night for Mandalorian and Grogu were 48% over 35, and 52% under 35. Dudes leading at 67%. The faithful who showed up Thursday night gave the movie a 71% definite recommend, which is very good for word of mouth. Men over 25 showed up at 48% (85% positive grade), women over 25 at 27% gave the Favreau film its best grade at 96%, followed by men under 25 at 19% (81% positive) with women under 25 the smallest demo at 6% (and a low 76% grade).
Second still belongs to the guy who is a lover, not a fighter, that being Lionsgate’s Michael at 3,306 theaters with about $5M today, a $17M–$20M fifth weekend, easing by 23%-35%, and estimated four-day of $21M-$25M and running cume of $317.2M by EOD Monday. Ya know what, the Antoine Fuqua-directed Michael Jackson biopic has to twirl past Oppenheimer at some point (final domestic $330M).
RELATED: 25 Music Biopics About Whitney, Elvis, Tina, Elton, Queen & More, Plus Where To Stream Them
Third is Focus Features’ Obsession with an amazing 3-day hold of -1% or $17M and 4-day of $21M. The Curry Barker-directed horror movie is officially a summer sleeper with a running 11-day cume by Monday of $51.3M. We’ll take it. Smart, brilliant dating by Focus Features Distribution Head Lisa Bunnell.
Fourth goes to the fourth weekend of 20th Century Studios/Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 at 3,300 sites with a $3M Friday, $10M-$11M 3-day, -37% to -43%, and $13M-$14M 4-day. This will put the running cume on the high-end on Monday at $197.5M.
Fifth is looking like Amazon MGM Studios’ third weekend of Hugh Jackman comedy The Sheep Detectives with $2M today at 3,207 theaters, $7.5M-$9M for the 3-day, -8% to -20%, with anywhere from $10M-$11M for the 4-day and a running cume by Monday of $45.3M.
RELATED: 45 Of The Most Anticipated Movies Of 2026
Sixth is Paramount’s André Øvredal and 18Mhz horror pic Passenger with a $3M Friday/previews, $7.3M 3-day and $8.8M 4-day at 2,534 locations.
Neon’s I Love Boosters is at $1.5M today/previews, $4M 3-day, $5M for the Friday-Monday span at 1,750 sites.
UPDATED, AFTER EXCLUSIVE: Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu came in at $12M on the nose in Thursday previews.
In addition to 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, the pic is comping to such 4-day openers and their previews as Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World ($12M previews, $100M opening last year) and 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($17.5M previews, $120.4M 4-day).
RELATED: ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu’: What The Critics Are Saying About Lucasfilm Tentpole
André Øvredal’s Paramount horror pic Passenger starring Melissa Leo grossed $1.1M from Thursday paid previews across roughly 2,125 locations. The pic is expected to do $9M-$10M over 4 days. Critics are low on it at 46%, and audiences aren’t wowed at 50%. The R-rated movie’s blurb: A young couple witness a horrific accident that leaves the driver dead. They soon encounter a demonic stalker who’s impossible to outrun and follows them wherever they go.
Naomi Ackie, Keke Palmer and Poppy Liu, Taylour Paige in ‘I Love Boosters’ (2026)
Neon
Neon’s Boots Riley movie, I Love Boosters, did $430K in total previews, $360K of that number from yesterday at 1,310 theaters. The pic is expected to do in the high single digits over 4-days. No RT audience score, but critics love the Keke Palmer, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonzalez, Naomi Ackie satirical comedy at 92% fresh.
The week’s top 5:
1) Michael (LG) 3,560 theaters, Wk $37.5M (-29%), Total $294.1M/Wk 4
2) Obsession (Focus) 2,615 theaters, Wk $30.3M/Wk 1
The Curry Barker-directed horror romance was No. 1 for a fourth straight day with $3.3M, ahead of Michael‘s $2.4M.
3) The Devil Wears Prada 2 (20th) 3,830 theaters, Wk $25.6M (-54%), Total $183.5M/Wk 3
4) Mortal Kombat II (NL) 3,534 theaters, Wk $17.7M (-64%), Total $66.6M/Wk 2
5) The Sheep Detectives (AMZ) 3,554 theaters, Wk $14.1M (-31%), Total $34.5M/Wk 2
EXCLUSIVE: Lucasfilm/Disney’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is pulling in around $12 million in North American Thursday night previews. It could be slightly lighter when the sun comes up in L.A. Shows began Thursday at 2 p.m.
That preview figure is slightly less than the Thursday cash made by 2018’s origin story Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was $14.1M. That turned into an $84.4M three-day and $103M four-day Memorial Day opening, not considered a starry start at all for the George Lucas-born, Disney-owned franchise.
Since its acquisition of Lucasfilm, Disney has hit it out of the park with 2015’s Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which at point charted the highest opening at the domestic box office ever with $247.9M before Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame came along in 2018 and 2019, respectively. In addition, Disney did spectacular with the 2016 Episode 4 prequel Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which opened to $155M stateside. Mandalorian and Grogu in pre-weekend tracking is hoping to clear $80M-$100M over the four days.
The Jon Favreau-directed movie is playing at 4,300 theaters, including 425 Imax, with the full suite of PLF, 4DX, 3D and ScreenX. Presales were at $25M on Tuesday, ahead of Project Hail Mary (which opened to an $80.5M 3-day).
The wait-and-see of it all with the PG-13 Mandalorian and Grogu is whether the movie expands to families on Saturday and Sunday. At every step of the way in the marketing campaign, Disney has been targeting them, emphasizing the cute-cute of Grogu, i.e., that saccharine Super Bowl commercial where Pedro Pascal’s tough dude and Baby Yoda are in a sleigh, dashing through the snow. At the same time, they’ve tried to speak to the faithful with images of Empire Strikes Back‘s snowy AT-AT scenes and wrestler Rotta the Hutt.
On the positive side, the Rotten Tomatoes audience score for Mandalorian and Grogu is higher than Solo: A Star Wars Story, 88%-63% (realize Thursday night fans are far more gentle in reactions than non-core Star Wars audiences will be). On the downside, critics are a bit more sour on Mandalorian and Grogu than Solo, 61% fresh to 69%.
Last year, Disney led the Memorial Day box office to an all-time record with $326.7M for all movies, and the best opening the holiday has ever seen, with the live-action take of Lilo & Stitch with its $182.6M 4-day in the U.S. and Canada.
Shoutout to Focus Features’ Obsession, which has been ruling the box office in its weekdays, beating Michael on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The Curry Barker-directed romance horror pic inched out Michael on Tuesday with $3.6M.
Through Wednesday, Obsession was up to $27M at the domestic B.O. Look for a great hold on the Blumhouse co-branded pic heading into the holiday.