THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU Finds New Life on Streaming After Disappointing Box Office Run
Sometimes audiences just wait for streaming, and the latest Star Wars film The Mandalorian & Grogu is proving exactly why that's become such a challenge for movie studios.
Earlier this year, Lucasfilm finally brought Star Wars back to theaters for the first time since 2019 with The Mandalorian & Grogu. Expectations were high for the return of Pedro Pascal's fan-favorite bounty hunter and everyone's favorite Force-sensitive little green companion, but the theatrical run didn't turn out the way many fans expected.
The film wrapped up its box office run with around $345 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing Star Wars movie to date.
While there are plenty of reasons that likely contributed to those numbers, one of the biggest seems pretty obvious. A lot of fans simply figured they'd catch it at home later instead of making a trip to the theater.
Well, that day has arrived, and audiences are showing up. Following its streaming debut on Fandango, The Mandalorian & Grogu immediately shot to the top of the platform's weekly streaming chart during its first week of availability.
It climbed ahead of several major titles, including Disclosure Day, Scary Movie, Obsession, Michael, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and The Devil Wears Prada 2.
It's a nice turnaround for a movie that deserved a much bigger theatrical audience.
The story picks up after the events of the three-season Disney+ series The Mandalorian, following Din Djarin and Grogu as they join forces with the New Republic to hunt down Imperial fugitives.
Their latest mission quickly spirals into something much bigger after they rescue Rotta the Hutt, putting them on a collision course with the Hutt Cartel and the legendary bounty hunter Embo in an adventure that spans the galaxy.
The film features Pedro Pascal returning as Din Djarin, alongside Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt, Jonny Coyne as Janu Coin, Martin Scorsese as Hugo Durant, and a talented supporting cast. The movie was directed by Jon Favreau, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor.
While critics were somewhat divided, audiences embraced the film. At the time of writing, The Mandalorian & Grogu holds an impressive 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes based on more than 10,000 verified ratings, compared to a 60% critics score.
Honestly, those audience numbers feel pretty reflective of the experience. The Mandalorian & Grogu is simply a fun Star Wars adventure.
It delivers everything fans have come to enjoy from Din Djarin and Grogu, mixing exciting action, heartfelt moments, familiar faces, and plenty of entertaining surprises. It isn't trying to reinvent the franchise. Instead, it leans into what made the Disney+ series such a hit in the first place, and it works.
That's what makes its theatrical performance such a shame. Seeing Din Djarin, Grogu, starfighters, creatures, and big action sequences on the big screen was exactly the kind of experience many fans say they want from Star Wars. Unfortunately, a lot of them didn’t show up to support the film in theaters.
The good news is that the movie is finally finding the audience it always deserved. Its strong streaming debut shows there's still plenty of love for these characters, even if that enthusiasm didn't translate into ticket sales.
Hopefully Lucasfilm sees this as a reminder that Din Djarin and Grogu still have a bright future, because fans clearly aren't done following them across the galaxy.