‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ fails to beat ‘Solo’ 3-day opening weekend
The first ‘Star Wars’ film since 2019 is on track for the worst debut of the Disney era.
The first ‘Star Wars’ film since 2019 is on track for the worst debut of the Disney era.
Hello! Welcome to The Box Office Report for the weekend of May 22-24, 2026.
Weekend gross: $82M
Total domestic gross: $82M
Last weekend: New release
Percent drop: NA
There are a few tells when it comes to how a film’s box office performance is being positioned to make up for the film’s lackluster numbers. Maybe it’s the global debut for an MCU movie being highlighted instead of the film’s domestic total. Or, for The Mandalorian and Grogu, a four-day holiday weekend opening being pitched instead of the traditional three-day weekend.
The first Star Wars movie to hit theaters since 2019 scored an estimated three-day debut of $82 million. But with Monday being a holiday, you’re probably going to see articles that are speculating on whether The Mandalorian and Grogu will hit $100 million — a number that might be possible if you include that fourth day.
Comparing the traditional three-day weekends for Star Wars movies, it looks like The Mandalorian and Grogu will have opened with the lowest first weekend of the Disney era. The film’s $82 million weekend would trail Solo’s $84.4 million. It also dramatically pales in comparison to The Force Awakens ($248 million), The Last Jedi ($220 million), The Rise of Skywalker ($177.4 million) and Rogue One ($155.1 million).
The “let’s turn a TV show into a movie” trick also failed to be as effective for Disney as when the studio turned an in-progress Moana series for Disney+ into Moana 2, which grossed $139.8 million over its traditional three-day weekend and $225.4 million over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

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Weekend gross: $22.4M
Total domestic gross: $52.8M
Last weekend: 3rd
Percent increase: 30
Despite adding a meager 40 theaters from last weekend, Obsession saw a 30 percent spike in its box office haul, jumping from a $17.2 million third-place debut to a $22.4 million weekend that put Curry Barker’s film in second place.
While I still don’t plan on seeing Obsession, I have watched a bunch of YouTube videos from That’s a Bad Idea, Barker’s comedy duo. He’s a weirdo, and I enjoy those sketches.
Weekend gross: $20M
Total domestic gross: $314.2M
Last weekend: 1st
Percent drop: 23
Michael continues its surprising box office performance. The Michael Jackson biopic added another $20 million to its domestic total, falling just 23 percent between its fourth and fifth weekends in theaters.
On the 2026 domestic chart, Michael currently sits at No. 3, with its $314.2 million trailing Project Hail Mary’s $339.6 million. With Michael’s current trajectory, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the biopic moonwalk past Ryan Gosling.
Weekend gross: $12.6M
Total domestic gross: $196.1M
Last weekend: 2nd
Percent drop: 29
By the end of Memorial Day, The Devil Wears Prada 2 will become the fourth movie released in 2026 to cross the $200 million mark, joining The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($423.6 million), Project Hail Mary ($339.6 million) and Michael ($314.2 million).
Weekend gross: $9M
Total domestic gross: $43.5M
Last weekend: 5th
Percent drop: 6
Wow, The Sheep Detectives fell a minuscule six percent between its second and third weekends. People love those mystery-solving, talking sheep.
Box office numbers via The Numbers and Box Office Mojo based on Sunday estimates.

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Issue No. 454
Popculturology is written and produced by Bill Kuchman.
Copyediting by Tim Kuchman.
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