Pedro Pascal’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie Breaks Record for the Lowest Box Office Opening in Franchise History

The Pedro Pascal-led addition to the Star Wars movie canon, The Mandalorian and Grogu, underperformed at the box office over the Memorial Day weekend, which some believe spells trouble for the aging franchise.

Pascal, 51, began playing the titular Mandalorian character in 2019 on the Disney+ original series. Its success led to the announcement that he would star in a standalone movie, which didn’t come until after two more seasons of the show. However, after finally hitting theaters on Friday, May 22, the movie opened to an underwhelming $100 million domestically, according to Variety.

This makes The Mandalorian and Grogu the lowest Star Wars box office release over that time ever. Previously, Solo: A Star Wars Story, held that title $103 million by the end of the Memorial Day weekend in 2018 (not adjusted for inflation). It eventually grossed $153 million worldwide.

While the movie certainly underperformed, it’s not exactly fair to call it a flop. Variety notes that anything opening over $100 million in post-pandemic times is significant.

Meanwhile, Deadline notes that the movie will still make money once merchandise sales and eventual streams on Disney+ are factored in.

Still, many fans consider the movie’s box office failure to be a sign of the franchise’s diminishing appeal.

“Its debated among fans that Disney does not know what to do with star wars,” one user on X wrote. “I dont think we needed a Mandalorian-grogu movie. This couldve been released in disney+.”

“Mandalorian and Grogu sounds like the kind of movie I’d like to watch as a 5 dollar DVD in a flimsy case with a menu screen that’s just 3 options,” another X user wrote.

“The Mandalorian & Grogu is just a 2-hour commercial to sell plastic toys to toddlers,” another user wrote in part.