‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ Beaten by Indie Horror, Underperforms Compared to ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’
Star Wars has an “Obsession” that has become a problem, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. The latest release in the long-running and faltering franchise, The Mandalorian and Grogu, is now the lowest-grossing installment in history. Moreover, it didn’t even win the top spot at the box office over Memorial Day weekend.
Obsession, the monkeys-paw horror story from newcomer Curry Barker, starring Inde Navarrette (Superman & Lois), held onto the number one slot with bloody determination. The ultra-low-budget indie that’s the second exceptional effort by a YouTuber this year, after Iron Lung, is exceeding expectations in its second week due to solid word of mouth.
Though this outcome is not without precedent, it’s still stunning a lot of people. Mando, which still has the Disney banner and the Star Wars brand behind it, flopping or underwhelming is unthinkable in some circles when the film was given prime real estate ahead of summer. That and it’s based on the most lauded series of the Disney+ era.
Solo: A Star Wars Story might have seemed like a sure thing in the beginning, but it turned into one of the biggest messes ever put into Disney’s ledger. The film told the tale of how Han got to be the space cowboy with a Wookie sidekick, Luke meets in A New Hope. Pretty straightforward…but it all ballooned out of proportion.
Originally, Solo was helmed by the team behind Project Hail Mary, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. They completed most of the principal photography but ran into trouble with Lucasfilm over their penchant for improvisational comedy, which they keenly encouraged among the cast.
The producers weren’t having it, so they brought in Ron Howard to play doctor and reshoot the rest of the job in hopes of meeting a tight deadline. He ultimately extended production and overhauled everything, and Solo went over budget. Upon release, it wound up getting the lukewarm reception it was known for until now.
Even if you don’t adjust for inflation, Mando & Grogu pulled in 40 percent less than Solo, which also received better reviews overall. The former has mixed reviews, with some critics enjoying parts of it while lamenting it is like one long episode of the show. Disney suits, however, are trying to look on the bright side.
Mandalorian and Grogu’s budget was under control, and the film may pay dividends for Disney+ traffic and interest once it hits streaming. Internally, their thinking is if it comes across as one long episode of the show, that could be looked at as one long commercial for it and the service.
The film is scheduled to land on D+ later this summer, but if it winds up on digital earlier than expected (which happened with Superman), that should tell you everything about how it did theatrically. Last weekend, it fell to no. 3 on the charts behind Obsession again and Backrooms – another surreal independent horror film by a YouTuber.
