The Mandalorian and Grogu opens $12 million

Disney and Lucasfilm’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu” brought in $12 million from Thursday preview screenings as it opened on 4,300 screens ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, according to Yahoo Entertainment and TheWrap. The film is the first “Star Wars” movie to reach theaters in seven years, giving the holiday corridor a major franchise release after a year in which the same weekend was dominated by Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” and Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.” Yahoo said this year’s Memorial Day frame is expected to run below last year’s pace. Last year’s four-day holiday weekend reached about $326 million to $329.8 million in domestic ticket sales, according to Deadline, CNBC and Bloomberg. ### How big is a $12 million Thursday for this movie? Yahoo Entertainment and TheWrap both reported that the $12 million figure came from Thursday-night previews before the film’s full Friday launch. TheWrap said the movie opened on 4,300 screens, giving it one of the widest starts of the weekend. The early number also set an immediate comparison with prior “Star Wars” releases. (yahoo.com) Yahoo reported that the start was below the early pace of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” another Memorial Day launch, placing “The Mandalorian and Grogu” in a more measured opening range than some earlier franchise entries. ### Why is last year’s Memorial Day weekend the benchmark? (yahoo.com) Deadline reported that Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” and Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” drove a record Memorial Day weekend in 2025, with “Lilo & Stitch” at $183 million over four days and “Mission: Impossible” at $77.5 million. CNBC said the domestic market totaled about $326 million, while Bloomberg put the figure at $329.8 million. (yahoo.com) Yahoo used that 2025 result as the direct comparison point for this year’s holiday frame, saying the current weekend is expected to be quieter. That comparison matters because Memorial Day is one of the industry’s biggest domestic corridors, and last year produced the strongest holiday total on record. (deadline.com) ### Where does “Lilo & Stitch” fit into this story now? Deadline’s box-office chart on animated films said “Lilo & Stitch” was among the fastest animated titles to reach $1 billion worldwide. Disney separately said the film crossed the $1 billion mark in July 2025, making it the first Motion Picture Association title of that year to hit the milestone. (yahoo.com) That leaves “Lilo & Stitch” in this story less as a current competitor than as the recent standard for Disney’s theatrical performance. Yahoo’s comparison framed last year’s Memorial Day market as unusually strong because one Disney title and one Paramount title both opened at high levels over the same long weekend. (deadline.com) ### Is this weekend only about one film? TheWrap reported that “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is arriving as the first theatrical “Star Wars” release in seven years, which gives the weekend a clear centerpiece. But Yahoo’s framing suggested the broader market, not just one title, is unlikely to match the scale of the 2025 holiday frame. (yahoo.com) Bloomberg and CNBC both described last year’s holiday as record-setting because two major studio releases landed at once and lifted total box-office receipts across the market. This year’s reporting so far has centered more narrowly on the “Mandalorian” launch number and the weekend’s overall pace relative to that benchmark. (thewrap.com) ### What numbers come next? Friday and Saturday grosses will show whether the $12 million preview figure translates into a stronger four-day holiday opening. Studios and trade publications typically update estimates through Sunday and finalize Memorial Day weekend totals on Monday. Monday’s holiday chart will put Disney and Lucasfilm’s launch against the recent Memorial Day comparisons that now include “Lilo & Stitch” at $183 million and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” at $77.5 million from the 2025 frame. (bloomberg.com) (deadline.com) (thewrap.com)