Is the Force with The Mandalorian and Grogu, or against it?
Judging by grosses alone, Jon Favreau‘s feature film adaptation of his Disney+ series is already making headlines around the world for likely scoring the lowest box office opening of any title in the storied Star Wars franchise since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012.
On Friday, Mondo topped the domestic box office chart with a series-low $33 million from 4,300 theaters across North America. That’s behind the $35.4 million grossed by the ill-fated Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018, not adjusted for inflation. Actual tickets sold on Friday for each are in the $21 million range when taking out the $12 million earned in previews by Mondo, of Solo’s $14.1 million in previews.
At the same time, Mandalorian and Grogu boast an 89 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes — the best any Star Wars film since Disney took over — and equally strong exit score on PostTrak, especially among kids. Disney insiders believe Mando could become the most family-driven film of any title in the iconic series, at least in the modern era.
Kids, especially boys under the age of 13, are going nuts for the film, giving it an A CinemaScore, and 5/5 stars on exit polling service PostTrak. General audiences bestowed the film with an A- CinemaScore and a stellar 4/5 stars. Reviewers aren’t as enthusiastic, although the critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes has risen to 64 percent.
