New To The Monday Morning Box Office Hangover Report?
Every Monday, er, how about Tuesday in this case, here on the Monday Morning Box Office Hangover Report we break down the weekend box office: who won, who didn’t, and what the numbers are really saying about what audiences want right now. It’s your post-weekend debrief with a little cocktail bite. The intro language and structure follow your established template.
Opening Pour
Well, the Star Wars galaxy showed up. In Force. (chuckles) Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu blasted into theaters with $82 million for the traditional Friday-to-Sunday weekend and an estimated $102 million for the full four-day Memorial Day haul, which was more than enough to take No. 1 and give theaters another holiday jolt. It was not a record-breaker, but it was comfortably ahead of expectations and strong enough to remind everyone that a recognizable franchise with a cute little green chaos goblin can still get families off the couch.
Top 5 Domestic Films
(Weekend estimates, May 22 to May 24, with holiday totals noted where available)
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu – $82.0M weekend / $102.0M four-day
- Obsession – $22.4M weekend / $28.2M four-day
- Michael – $20.0M weekend
- The Devil Wears Prada 2 – $12.6M weekend
- The Sheep Detectives – $9.0M weekend
Recap
This was a much healthier holiday than the previous weekend, even if it still fell well short of last year’s Memorial Day insanity (Lilo & Stitch, Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning). Box Office Mojo reports the domestic market did about $170.4 million over the three-day weekend and about $215.3 million over the four-day Memorial Day stretch, up sharply from the prior weekend’s roughly $101.2 millionthree-day total. AP noted, though, that it was still well below the roughly $330 million four-day record set last year. So, good weekend, not resurrection weekend.
Highlights and insights
1) The Mandalorian and Grogu did what it needed to do
The headline is simple: No. 1 with $82 million for the weekend and $102 million by Monday. AP reports the film also launched to about $165 million globally, and crucially, it did so on a reported $165 million budget, which makes it look a lot more financially sensible than some of the more bloated franchise swings of the last few years. This was not a cultural detonation, but it was a real win.
2) The audience seems to like it more than critics do
AP reported mixed critical response, with Rotten Tomatoes sitting at 63%, but stronger audience reaction, including solid CinemaScores and especially strong turnout from young boys and parents. That matters because this movie did not need universal critical worship. It needed families, franchise loyalists, and people who would absolutely buy a ticket because Grogu is on the poster. It got them.
3) Obsession is the weekend’s real “what the actually hell?” story
The more interesting box office flex may actually belong to Obsession, which ROSE 30% in its second weekend to $22.4 million, with AP projecting $28.2 million through Monday. That is a weird, delightful, slightly unhinged thing for a low-budget horror-romance to do on a holiday weekend when a new Star Wars movie just opened. Social media buzz clearly did its job. Side note: this movie cost $1 million and has made $75 million worldwide.
4) Michael is still hanging around like a real hit
Third place with $20 million is not flashy when a giant franchise opener lands, but it is sturdy as hell. At this point, Michael has moved well beyond “big opening” territory and into “theatrical workhorse” status. It may not be leading the room anymore, but it is still making enough noise to matter.
5) The rougher mornings belong lower on the chart
Further down the lineup, Passenger opened with $8.7 million, while Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters took in $3.7 million. Those are the kinds of numbers that get swallowed when a holiday weekend has one clear winner and one buzzy overperforming holdover. They did not get annihilated, but they definitely woke up in somebody else’s shadow.
Who Had the Rough Morning After?
The real box office hangover this weekend probably belongs to Passenger and I Love Boosters. Passenger arrived with poor reviews and still could only manage $8.7 million, while I Love Boosters came in at $3.7 million, which is the sort of number that usually gets lost under the much louder stories above it. When Star Wars opens and Obsession is out there stealing second weekend headlines, everybody else is basically drinking at the kids’ table.
What’s next?
The immediate question is whether The Mandalorian and Grogu has legs or whether this was simply a strong holiday-powered debut. AP’s read was encouraging: the film beat expectations, audience response was good, and its budget gives it a more realistic path to profitability than some previous galaxy-sized gambles. If it holds decently next weekend, then this goes from “nice holiday opener” to “real summer anchor.”
Final Pour
This holiday weekend did not save the theatrical business in one grand, silly stroke. But it did give it a welcome kick in the ass. The Mandalorian and Grogu delivered the kind of recognizable-event-movie result theaters needed, Obsessionkept acting like the weird little movie that refuses to die, and Michael proved once again it has serious stamina. Not a historic Memorial Day, but definitely a better one than a sleepy marketplace could have hoped for. 🍸🍿
