Star Wars Returns to Theaters: The Mandalorian and Grogu Earns $102M After 7-Year Hiatus

Star Wars Is Back — And It Brought \$102 Million With It

After nearly seven years away from the big screen, Star Wars has finally returned to theaters, and it didn't exactly come quietly. The Mandalorian and Grogu, directed by Jon Favreau, opened to an estimated \$102 million over the Memorial Day 2026 weekend, marking the franchise's first theatrical release since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker wrapped up the Skywalker saga back in December 2019.

For fans who've been starved of Star Wars on the silver screen through the streaming era, this felt like a homecoming. But let's talk about the numbers, because they tell a more nuanced story.

The Box Office Breakdown: Strong Opening, But Not Record-Breaking

The film earned \$82 million over its three-day weekend and jumped to \$102 million when you factor in the Monday holiday. That crossed the psychologically important \$100 million mark — something that's gotten noticeably harder in the post-pandemic theatrical landscape. But here's the thing: it's also the weakest three-day opening for any Disney-era Star Wars movie.

For context, the previous "weakest" Disney-era Star Wars opening belonged to 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story, which debuted at \$84 million over the weekend and \$103 million for Memorial Day. Except Solo was plagued by terrible reviews and became the first Star Wars film to actually lose money in theaters. The Mandalorian and Grogu is in a much better position — it scored an "A-" CinemaScore (better than the "B+" that The Rise of Skywalker received) and reportedly cost just \$165 million to make, well below the bloated budgets of recent franchise tentpoles.

Internationally, the film pulled in \$64 million, bringing its four-day global total to \$165 million. Analysts note that Star Wars has historically underperformed overseas, so the domestic-heavy pattern isn't surprising.

Who Showed Up? Mostly the Diehards

Opening weekend demographics tell an interesting story: 63% male, 75% over the age of 25. This is a film that appealed strongly to the existing Star Wars fanbase — the people who stuck with Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin through three seasons of the Disney+ series. The question now is whether it can expand beyond that core audience and pull in families and casual viewers in its second weekend.

The film picks up after Season 3 of The Mandalorian and follows Din Djarin and Grogu as they navigate a galaxy still recovering from the fall of the Empire. Alongside Pascal, the film features Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze and Emily Swallow as the Armorer — fan favorites from the show making the jump to the big screen.

What This Means for the Future of Star Wars Movies

The real story isn't just about this weekend's numbers — it's about what comes next. Lucasfilm has already confirmed Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine) and starring Ryan Gosling, is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend 2027. If Gosling can build on the success of Project Hail Mary (another sci-fi hit this summer) and bring his star power to the galaxy far, far away, that film could push the franchise into a whole new gear.

Meanwhile, the box office competition this weekend was fierce. A24's horror hit Obsession, directed by Curry Barker, continued its surprise run with \$28.2 million over the holiday. The Michael Jackson biopic Michael added another \$25.7 million in its fifth weekend, pushing past \$788 million globally and closing in on Bohemian Rhapsody's record as the highest-grossing musical biopic ever. And The Devil Wears Prada 2 pulled in \$16.5 million, proving that Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep still have serious box office draw.

Overall, Memorial Day 2026 generated roughly \$221 million across all films — a solid sign that summer movie season is off to a healthy start. And for Star Wars fans, seven years of waiting just paid off. The Force, it turns out, still sells tickets.