Box Office: ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ Makes $12 Million in Previews, Lower Than ‘Solo’

It’s time to go back to a galaxy far, far away.

“Star Wars” returns to the box office for the first time in seven years with the release of “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which has made $12 million in previews.

The last time “Star Wars” hit theaters was in 2019 when Episode IX “The Rise of Skywalker” opened and made more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office. However, reviews from critics and fans were negative, and there hasn’t been a “Star Wars” movie since. In the meantime, the franchise moved to Disney+, where fans were introduced to Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin, aka the bounty hunter Mando, and Grogu, aka the adorable Baby Yoda. Now, the two characters will be put to the big-screen test with their latest adventure.

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“The Mandalorian and Grogu” is projected to make $80 million to $100 million over the extra-long Memorial Day weekend. That would be a solid start for any other movie, but this is “Star Wars” we’re talking about, one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises of all time. “Mandalorian” could become the lowest opening ever for a “Star Wars” movie, even below 2018’s “Solo” spinoff which launched with $103 million after making $14.1 million in previews over Memorial Day weekend. With a $300 million budget, “Solo” is the only “Star Wars” to lose money after it ended its run with $392 million globally. Luckily, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” has a smaller $165 million budget, plus marketing costs.

Helmed by “Iron Man” and “The Lion King” remake director Jon Favreau, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” continues the two heroes’ journey after the fall of the Empire. They team up with Sigourney Weaver’s new rebel leader and take on a dangerous job to hunt down Rotta the Hutt, the son of Jabba the Hutt who’s voiced by Jeremy Allen White.

This weekend’s other new release, Paramount’s horror movie “Passenger,” brought in $1.1 million in previews. Horror has had a big week thanks to Focus Features’ indie feature “Obsession,” which had a huge $17.2 million opening last weekend. It was the top film at the box office each day this week and brought its domestic total up to $30.2 million ahead of the long weekend. In its first week, “Obsession” has already passed the entire runs of “Heretic” ($27.9 million),”Midsommar” ($27.5 million) and “Together” ($21 million), and it’s on track to surpass “Barbarian” ($41 million) and “Hereditary” ($44 million) by early next week.