'The Mandalorian and Grogu' tanks at box office with lowest Disney-era Star Wars opening ever

The latest Star Wars film, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” is on track to post the lowest opening weekend for a Disney-era movie in the franchise.

The film marks the first Star Wars theatrical release in seven years. Heading into Memorial Day weekend, the movie earned roughly $33 million on Friday in North America and is projected to bring in between $80 million to $100 million over the holiday weekend. 

The high end of those projections would place the film near the 2018 opening of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which also opened on Memorial Day. The film was seen as a major financial disappointment for the studio. 

While "The Mandalorian and Grogu" is also seen as underperforming, expectations were somewhat lower because of its smaller production budget. Even then, the film is projected to have the weakest opening for a Disney-owned Star Wars release.

Based on the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” the movie follows the main characters, the Mandalorian and Grogu, as they attempt to rescue Rotta the Hutt, the son of Jabba the Hutt, from a warlord. The film currently holds a 62 percent critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience rating of 89 percent.

Meanwhile, the box office has favored Focus Features’ film “Obsession,” which earned $19.9 million in its second week after an opening of $17.2 million. The film is projected to make $24.8 million over Memorial Day weekend with a domestic total of $55.1 million.

The Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” recently surpassed $300 million domestically and is projected to reach $788.8 million globally, according to Variety.