Is The Mandalorian and Grogu Movie A Success or Failure?
By: R.A. Rayne
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars film in theaters in seven years, and despite being the Number 1 movie globally, many are calling it a failure. Why?
I have seen the movie twice within a 3-day period, and enjoyed it both times. If you are a fan of The Mandalorian series, you will love the film. It has everything fans have come to love from the show, without making you have to watch the series to know what is happening. It is a fun buddy movie where the two main characters look after each other and go to the ends of the galaxy to protect one another.
For casual Star Wars fans or moviegoers, the film is fun and exciting, keeping you engaged with its action and compassion and offering relatable characters who, while larger-than-life, you can connect with and care about. For hardcore Star Wars fans, don’t worry. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau haven’t forgotten about you. There are Easter eggs galore, some so subtle that you will have to watch the film multiple times to catch them. The Mandalorian and Grogu is a fun film that I enjoyed, and watching how much my wife and daughter loved it made the experience even better.
That all being said, is it my favorite Star Wars film? No. But that’s like saying lobster isn’t my favorite food. It may not be the first thing I think of when I want to eat, and I may not want it every day, but it’s still lobster, and I know that when I take my first bite, I am going to enjoy it until the last. The Mandalorian and Grogu movie is the same. It may not be the first Star Wars film I sit down to watch, but I will watch it again and again.
So, what makes this film a success or a failure?
On its opening weekend, The Mandalorian and Grogu had the lowest global opening for any live-action Star Wars film, grossing about $177.9 million worldwide, including a $98 million domestic four-day Memorial Day weekend debut.
It still was the top-grossing movie of the holiday weekend. It was still the number 1 movie in the US and worldwide. It has a Rotten Tomato score of 62% based on critic reviews and a Popcorn score 88% based on audience reviews. Its IMDb rating is 7 out of 10, and it currently ranks 12th among the top-grossing movies of 2026.
But does that mean anything?
Sure, you can say people aren’t going to the theater as much anymore. Overpriced tickets, refreshments, and gasoline prices keep people away. Some say streaming services are killing the movie-going experience, but is that really true?
The top 5 grossing movies of 2026 say something else.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Universal) – ~$968.0 million
Michael (Lionsgate) – ~$715.8 million
Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM) – ~$669.7 million
Pegasus 3 (Maoyan) – ~$649.9 million
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Disney/20th Century) – ~$552.3 million.
Okay then. Is it because of Social Media?
Let’s face it, we live in an age when the internet determines what is popular or not, what to like or not, and even what is right and wrong. And fans aren’t what they used to be. Being a “Fan” of something used to mean loving it so much that you didn’t care what anyone said about it, but not anymore. Now it’s hard to tell who are actual fans upset that the movie, show, toy, etc. didn’t turn out as well as they hoped from the TOXIC FANS who seem to live to hate the thing they claim to love most. And it’s these TOXIC FANS who seem to have the loudest voices, which could be part of the reason audiences are starting to stay away from some of these films. If you keep hearing how bad something is, whether it is or not, you will sometimes start to believe it, but that doesn’t explain the audience metric. Remember, 88% of the audience liked the film.
Well, it can’t be Memorial Day weekend, right? I mean, the original Star Wars came out that weekend and was a blockbuster. Hell, lots of films come out on Memorial Day weekend. It’s the kickoff of the summer movie blockbusters, but is it still? AAA estimated that 45 million people across the US were traveling for the holiday weekend. They also projected a record-breaking 3.61+ million people would be flying, so perhaps people decided to save their movie money and use it to travel.
Like I said, moviegoing isn’t cheap anymore, and people are starting to have to make decisions about how to spend their money. Just for my wife, daughter, and me to see the movie cost us over $60 just for tickets, plus another $40-some for popcorn and drinks. With prices like that, we had to cut back, sharing a drink for my wife and me and getting a smaller bag of popcorn. So if you are planning to travel and the cost of your gas and/or ticket has gone up, the money you had planned to use to see a film will have to go to that instead of a movie you can watch on Disney+ a few months later.
Let’s say it isn’t gas, ticket, or refreshment prices. What explains Mandalorian and Grogu’s box office numbers being much lower than those of their predecessors, especially when 88% of the audience enjoys the film?
That is the million-dollar question, or in this case, a multi-hundred-million-dollar question. While every Star Wars film has grossed more than $300 million, only five Star Wars films have crossed the billion-dollar mark. Is that what makes a good Star Wars film? No. The Rise of Skywalker, by far the weakest film in the Star Wars franchise, made $1.077 billion worldwide.
There are too many variables to determine what makes a film a success. Maybe the success or failure of a movie shouldn’t be decided by how much it grosses compared to its predecessors, the economy, the weekend it’s released, the internet, or how soon we can stream it on our giant TVs in our living rooms. Or by what it makes on its Opening Weekend. Maybe we should stop worrying about all that. That’s what studio executives are for.
Just enjoy the movie.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is a fun, exciting adventure that allows us to sit down with our friends and family, escape our own world for a few hours, and go to a galaxy far far away.
May the Force Be With You.
