Mandalorian tops Memorial Day with $82M

Disney’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” reopened the Memorial Day box office conversation with an $82 million domestic debut, but the broader holiday frame remained well below last year’s pace. Studio estimates reported Sunday and carried Monday showed the film leading U.S. and Canada theaters after a nearly seven-year gap between “Star Wars” theatrical releases. The four-day Memorial Day weekend was projected at about $211 million overall, according to NBC’s report and other box office trackers. That compared with roughly $330 million during the 2025 holiday corridor, when “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” was part of a stronger market. ### How big was the opening for Disney’s new “Star Wars” movie? Studio estimates on Sunday put “The Mandalorian and Grogu” at $82 million for the three-day weekend in the United States and Canada from 4,300 theaters. By the end of Monday’s holiday, the film was expected to reach about $102 million domestically, according to the Associated Press version of the box office report. (nbcnews.com) Variety reported the film’s international start at $64 million, for a global launch of about $165 million over the four-day frame. NBC said the result exceeded some opening-weekend expectations, even as it landed on the lower end of Disney-era “Star Wars” releases. ### Why are the comparisons landing on “Solo” and not the biggest “Star Wars” hits? (usnews.com) NBC said the domestic start was closer to 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which made $103 million over the four-day Memorial Day frame. That comparison has appeared repeatedly because “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is the first “Star Wars” movie in theaters since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” making its launch a test of how much theatrical demand the franchise still commands after years centered on Disney+. (variety.com) The Hollywood Reporter and Variety both described the opening as solid rather than record-setting. Variety added that opening-weekend buyers were 63% male and 75% over age 25, while CinemaScore exit polls gave the film an “A-.” ### What pulled the whole holiday weekend below last year? Box Office Mojo listed the 2026 Memorial Day long weekend at about $215.3 million for the top 10 films and about $217.4 million overall as of data posted May 24, while NBC and Associated Press reports rounded the frame to about $211 million. (nbcnews.com) All of those figures were well below the roughly $330 million benchmark cited for the 2025 Memorial Day corridor. (hollywoodreporter.com) Collider’s 2025 report described last year’s holiday as a record-breaking frame led by Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” and Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch.” That helps explain why this year’s market is being measured against an unusually strong comparison rather than a typical Memorial Day baseline. ### What else was drawing attention besides the No. 1 film? (boxofficemojo.com) NBC and other weekend reports said “Obsession” posted an unusually strong second weekend and became the other headline of the frame. The Associated Press account said the “Star Wars” release led the charts, but the holiday conversation was split between the franchise return at No. 1 and the holdover strength of “Obsession.” (collider.com) Chicago Tribune’s syndicated report described the “Star Wars” turnout as healthy but not record-breaking. That framing matched the broader trade coverage, which treated the debut as a win for Disney and Lucasfilm without suggesting a full return to the franchise’s earlier theatrical highs. ### What comes next for the numbers? Memorial Day Monday receipts were still projections in the reports published May 24 and May 25. (nbcnews.com) Disney, Comscore and public box office trackers such as Box Office Mojo were expected to replace estimates with final holiday grosses after theaters reported complete Monday sales. (boxofficemojo.com) (chicagotribune.com)