Something once thought impossible just happened. The latest Star Wars film, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” will do about $9.5 million in its third weekend at the box office. Not only that, the film has been knocked down to sixth place too.
Since the film opened on May 22, it has grossed only $155 million domestically and less than $300 million globally.
Let that sink in. In three weekends, the latest “Star Wars” film only made $155 million in North America. For comparison, when “The Force Awakens” reached the third weekend of release, it still made over $80 million and had already reached more than $740 million domestically and over $1.5 billion globally.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” just made under $10 million in the third week. Something is wrong in a galaxy far, far, away.
Given the $165 million estimated production budget and very expensive and extensive marketing campaign, many believe the film needs to make at least $420-$500 million to break even, and it doesn’t seem like the movie will hit those totals at this time.
Star Wars is bottoming out.
Whether it is due to fan fatigue from oversaturation of shows on Disney+, or people not going to see a movie about one of the shows, or frustrated fans giving up altogether on Disney’s “Star Wars”, something is amiss.
A “Star Wars” film shouldn’t be number two in the second week and number 6 in its third week, beaten mostly by independent horror films.
If someone told me ten years ago that this would happen, I would never have believed them, but here we are.
Disney’s mismanagement of the franchise
Many people feel that the Walt Disney Company has poorly managed the “Star Wars” franchise, along with Lucasfilm’s other big titles, “Indiana Jones” and “Willow.”
Missteps with the sequel trilogy have led to the loss of fan goodwill, along with high-budget yet lackluster shows and films. While “The Mandalorian” performed very well during the first two seasons, the third season hit a precipice and then dove off.
With each new Disney+ show, the audience dwindles even more. Recent endeavors like “The Acolyte” and “Skeleton Crew” saw poor viewership.
While Disney keeps touting the return of “Star Wars” to cinema screens, many fans didn’t show up to support it. They seem to be apathetic and unmotivated to pay what amounts to a fourth season of a television show turned into a movie.
What was once one of the largest franchises in the world has now been reduced to sixth place in three weekends under a “Scary Movie” sequel and “Masters of the Universe.”
It breaks my heart to see how far the once beloved franchise has fallen under the stewardship of the Walt Disney Company. I’m not sure it can be saved.
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