Entertainment

Box Office: ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ tops charts as ‘Obsession’ emerges as surprise hit

AP 24th May, 2026 08:14 PM

After nearly seven years away from the big screen, a new Star Wars movie drew healthy but not record-breaking crowds to global theatres this weekend. According to studio estimates on Sunday, “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu made $82 million (about Ksh 10.6 billion)” in ticket sales from 4,300 theatres in the U.S. and Canada.

By the end of Monday’s Memorial Day holiday, it’s expected to have earned $102 million (about Ksh 13.2 billion) domestically and $165 million (about Ksh 21.3 billion) globally.

It exceeded opening weekend expectations for the movie, a continuation of the Disney+ spinoff series The Mandalorian, but still sits on the lower end of Disney-era Star Wars releases, closer to Solo: A Star Wars Story, which made $103 million (about Ksh 13.3 billion) over the Memorial Day frame in 2018.

Budget vs Expectations

The production budget for Solo was around $300 million (about Ksh 38.7 billion), while The Mandalorian and Grogu were made for a reported $165 million (about Ksh 21.3 billion), excluding marketing costs. This positions the film more favourably for profitability.

Critics were mixed to negative, with a 63% Rotten Tomatoes score, but audiences responded strongly with an A- CinemaScore. Younger viewers, especially boys under 13, gave it an A CinemaScore and perfect PostTrak scores, while parents rated it five out of five.

The film stars Pedro Pascal as the bounty hunter on a mission alongside Grogu to save Jabba’s son Rotta the Hutt, voiced by Jeremy Allen White.

Din Djarin and Grogu share a quiet moment together.PHOTO/https://www.starwars.com/

Word-of-mouth helped Curry Barker’s Obsession outperform expectations, with the horror film rising sharply in its second weekend. It earned $22.4 million (about Ksh 2.9 billion) from 2,655 theatres, marking a rare 30% increase.

The studio projects a total of $28.2 million (about Ksh 3.6 billion) by Monday, pushing its total run to $58.5 million (about Ksh 7.5 billion) and securing second place at the box office.

Passenger struggles at release

Obsession also outperformed the new horror release Passenger, which made $8.7 million (about Ksh 1.1 billion) from 2,534 locations and is expected to reach $10.5 million (about KSh 1.4 billion) in its opening days. The film received weak reviews, scoring 44% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B- CinemaScore.

Maddie in a scene from Passenger. PHOTO/https://www.paramountplus.com/

Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters opened to $3.7 million (about KSh 477 million), adding to a competitive weekend lineup.

Overall, the Memorial Day box office is projected at around $211 million (about Ksh 27.2 billion), down from last year’s $330 million (about KSh 42.5 billion), marking a softer performance for the holiday period.

Top 10 Movies at the Box Office

With final domestic figures set to be released on Tuesday, the list is based on estimated ticket sales from Friday to Sunday in theatres across the U.S. and Canada, according to Comscore: