The Mandalorian and Grogu has been toppled from the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office... by an R-rated indie horror film with a $1 million budget.
Curry Barker's Obsession has proven to be a huge hit with cinemagoers since it hit theatres on May 15, and as it heads into its third weekend of release, the movie has reclaimed the No. 1 position from the first Star Wars feature since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker.
Obsession took in $5.6 million on Wednesday (vs. Mando's $4.2 million), and now sits at $73.5 million after 13 days in theatres. This is quite an accomplishment for an independent horror movie with such a small budget, but a mid-week box office blip may not mean very much once the weekend punters show up.
The Mandalorian and Grogo is estimated to make around $40 million over the weekend (which would mark a 50% drop), but both movies will face stiff competition from A24's Backrooms, which is looking at a $40 million to $45 million debut.
Jon Favreau directs and produces the feature spin-off, with Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni also serving as producers.
"I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created," Favreau said of directing his first Star Wars movie in a previous statement. "The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting."
Kennedy added, "Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have ushered into Star Wars two new and beloved characters, and this new story is a perfect fit for the big screen."
Pedro Pascal reprises his role as Din Djarin, with Jeremy Allen White playing an older take on Rotta the Hutt. Alien icon Sigourney Weaver is also on board as Ward, a colonel and leader of the New Republic's Adelphi Rangers who previously served as a pilot for the Rebel Alliance. The Clone Wars bounty hunter, Embo, also makes his presence felt.
Favreau was asked why these characters were chosen to be the focus of the next Star Wars movie during an interview with Total Film.
"I'm not sure what, exactly, why we were asked to do this. I suspect it was because these are characters that people, even who hadn't seen Star Wars, may be aware of, especially Grogu. Baby Yoda was everywhere. And these are two characters that were used to launch Disney Plus, and we made no assumptions when the Mandalorian TV show came on that anybody had seen any Star Wars before. But we also wanted to make it feel authentic to Star Wars, and so the world that we created as the backdrop and the way the characters present themselves were embraced by Star Wars fans, which I really appreciate.
But it also was an inroad for people who may not have ever watched Star Wars on television, and here we are now, seven years after the last film. I think there's an opportunity to present Star Wars to a new audience using these characters as well."