A Long Time Ago in A Theater: The Weekend POURcast!
Every Friday, at Cocktails and Movies we present the Weekend POURcast: a quick-hit look at what’s new in theaters, what MIGHT matter at the box office, what’s fresh on streaming, and what cocktail should be in your hand while you decide whether to leave the house or let the couch steal another national holiday. Memorial Day weekend usually wants a main event. This year, it is arriving with a Star Wars hyperdrive engine on it.
Last weekend, the box office was crowded but healthy. Michael climbed back to No. 1 with $26.1 million, The Devil Wears Prada 2 took second place with $18 million, Obsession debuted with $16.1 million (making over 20x its budget), Mortal Kombat II landed at $13.4 million, and The Sheep Detectives rounded out the Top 5 with $9.3 million. The Top Gun / Top Gun: Maverick double bill also showed real life, pulling in $3.1 million as a nostalgia play.
Now the calendar flips to Memorial Day weekend, and Box Office Mojo’s release schedule shows a much bigger board: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Magic Hour, I Love Boosters, Passenger, and Saccharine all open wide on May 22, with Stolen Kingdom opening wide on May 21. There are also several limited and repertory titles in the mix, but that wide slate is where the real fight starts.
Last Weekend in Review
The larger story right now is that 2026 has genuine holdover strength compared to previous years. Box Office Mojo’s yearly chart has The Super Mario Galaxy Movie at $419.7 million domestic, Project Hail Mary at $336.1 million, Michael at $289.2 million, and The Devil Wears Prada 2 at $180.2 million. Those are real hits with staying power.
That matters because Memorial Day weekend is not arriving to rescue a dead market. It is arriving to try to dominate a healthy one. Which means the new titles need to feel like occasions, not just content. Good news for The Mandalorian and Grogu. Tougher news for everything else that has to stand next to it and pretend that is fine.
New in Theaters This Weekend
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
This is the weekend’s giant swing and the obvious marquee title. Box Office Mojo lists it as a wide Disney release opening May 22. The moment you put “Star Wars” on a Memorial Day weekend release board, the conversation changes. It is not just another opener. It is the movie the whole weekend has to organize itself around.
The upside is obvious. Franchise recognition, family reach, fan urgency, premium-screen value, and enough built-in goodwill to turn a long holiday weekend into an event. The only real question is whether audiences treat it like a full-blown must-see-now play or just a strong start to summer. Either way, it is walking in with the biggest target and the biggest gun.
Magic Hour
Also opening wide is Magic Hour, a drama-romance starring Katie Aselton, Daveed Diggs, Brad Garrett, and Susan Sullivan. This is the counterprogramming lane for people who hear “Star Wars Memorial Day weekend” and immediately want something smaller, warmer, and less laser-adjacent.
I Love Boosters
This one has maybe the most intriguingly chaotic description on the board: adventure, comedy, crime, drama, and sci-fi. That is either a glorious mess or a weird little sleeper. Sometimes Memorial Day weekends need one movie that feels like it might be for people who want something stranger than the obvious blockbuster, and I Love Boosters looks like it wants that job.
Passenger
Passenger is a wide horror release starring Melissa Leo, Lou Llobell, Jacob Scipio, and Joseph Lopez. That gives the weekend a clean genre lane for people who want the holiday box office equivalent of a dark room and bad decisions. Horror does not need to win the weekend to matter. It just needs to grab its crowd hard and fast.
Saccharine
This is the other wide title that could sneak into the conversation simply by being tonally distinct. It is billed as drama, horror, and sci-fi, which is usually a sign that somebody is either trying something ambitious or hiding something completely deranged under a very pretty wrapper. On a weekend like this, that may be enough to get real curiosity business.
Stolen Kingdom
Opening wide on May 21, Stolen Kingdom technically gets a head start into the holiday corridor. Box Office Mojo has it marked as wide, which means it is not just being tossed into the water to see if it floats. In a crowded weekend, that one-day jump can matter at the margins, especially if reviews or audience chatter show up quickly.
Box Office Forecast: May 22nd-25th, 2026
1. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
$78M to $105M for the 3-day weekend
This is the cleanest No. 1 call on the board. It has franchise size, family appeal, and the Memorial Day launchpad. Unless it somehow walks in wearing cement shoes, this should lead the weekend. The only real debate is how big it goes.
2. Michael
$14M to $22M
It just reclaimed No. 1 last weekend, which tells you it still has serious holdover strength. It may give up the crown, but it should not fall off the map. This thing has been hanging around like it pays rent in the Top 5.
3. The Devil Wears Prada 2
$10M to $16M
The audience is still there. Even with a Star Wars holiday launch sucking up attention, this movie has already proven it knows how to hold its lane. It may not be the main event anymore, but it is still absolutely at the party.
4. Passenger
$7M to $12M
Of the non-Star Wars newcomers, this feels like the cleanest commercial pitch. Horror is still one of the easiest sells in theaters because people understand exactly why they should go now instead of later. That matters on a crowded holiday weekend.
5. I Love Boosters or Magic Hour
$5M to $9M
This is the messy slot. I Love Boosters has the more curious genre blend and a chance to become the “what the hell is this?” discovery. Magic Hour has the more grounded adult-counterprogramming lane. One of them probably cracks the five simply by being the alternative to everything else.
New Movies on Streaming This Weekend
If you are staying home, Rotten Tomatoes’ newest-at-home listings show a busy May 22 crop. Titles include Ladies First, Giant, Sick Puppy, Josh Johnson: Symphony, Reckless, Bushido, System, and Shakti. Just ahead of that group, the page also shows very recent arrivals like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Normal, Mother Mary, The Stranger, Mile End Kicks, Wasteman, and Miroirs No. 3.
There are a few standouts here. Bushido is sitting at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Stranger is at 91% critics and 93% audience, Wasteman is at 100% critics and 90% audience, and Miroirs No. 3 is at 95%. Meanwhile, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has now hit streaming with a split of 42% critics and 88% audience, which is basically the most on-brand summary of that movie imaginable.
So the at-home menu is actually pretty damn solid for a holiday weekend. If theaters feel too crowded, too expensive, or too full of people explaining Star Wars lore to their dates, the couch has options.
Weekend Drink Pairing: The Executive Order Cocktail
This weekend’s cocktail pick is The Executive Order Cocktail.
Why this one? Because Memorial Day weekend 2026 looks like a weekend about power, control, and big institutions throwing their weight around. You have Star Wars empire energy, prestige counterprogramming, horror opportunism, and enough brand warfare to make the whole frame feel like a boardroom in nicer lighting. The Executive Order Cocktail already lives on CocktailsandMovies.com, which gives the article a clean internal-link play and a drink with an actual identity instead of some disposable one-week gimmick.
More importantly, it sounds like a cocktail with posture. Polished, forceful, and just dangerous enough to make you think twice before underestimating it. That feels right for this weekend.
Final Pour
This is a real Memorial Day weekend board. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is the obvious headliner, but the rest of the frame is not empty. Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 still have muscle, Passenger has a clean horror lane, and the weirder adult alternatives could carve out their own pockets if audiences feel like zigging instead of taking the expected blockbuster path.
Not a bad menu at all. Space westerns, horror rides, indie curveballs, and a cocktail that sounds like it already signed the paperwork before you walked in. 🍸🍿
