By Janet H. Cho
Walt Disney is on track to top the holiday weekend domestic box office draw, with Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu expected to haul in about $100 million, but even that won't touch last year's blockbuster totals.
The latest Star Wars adventure and this weekend's other movies are expected to fall short of last year's record, when Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning delivered the biggest-ever domestic Memorial Day weekend at the movies.
Still, Mandalorian and Grogu is expected to power "a very solid" holiday weekend, says Comscore's head of marketplace trends Paul Dergarabedian said.
Memorial Day 2025 cleared more than $330 million in domestic ticket sales, 55% of which came from Lilo & Stitch. "No one is anticipating that level of performance, but it seems like spirits are rather high given the strength of the year to date box office," he said.
Mandalorian and Grogu, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, and Jeremy Allen White as characters from the Disney+ series, is "this year's sole tentpole, Memorial Day weekend release," making comparisons with last year "extremely difficult," said Eric Handler, senior media and entertainment analyst for Roth.
Although Mandalorian and Grogu's early buzz has been mixed and opening weekend expectations are on the softer side, audiences looking for a good movie often embrace films underestimated by critics and analysts, Dergarbedian said.
This year, Hollywood has generated $3.18 billion in domestic ticket sales through May 17, up 16.2% compared with the same point in 2025, according to Comscore.
That's because "this crop of incredibly strong holdovers" that opened weeks ago are still selling well, Dergarabedian said.
Lionsgate's Michael , the biopic about Michael Jackson that opened April 24, sold $26.1 million last weekend, and has drummed up $282.8 million in domestic box office sales, according to Comscore. It has sold $703.9 million worldwide in 83 international markets, including $60.4 million on IMAX screens.
Disney and 20th Century Studios' The Devil Wears Prada 2 , the sequel to the 2006 hit movie, sold $18 million in its third weekend. The PG-13-rated comedy has sold $175.9 million in domestic box office and $546.2 million globally since opening May 1, outperforming The Devil Wears Prada's $327 million global run.
Warner Bros.' sci-fi adventure Mortal Kombat II, the sci-fi thriller based on the martial arts videogame, sold $13.4 million in its second weekend. It has raked in $62.2 million domestically and $101.2 million globally since opening on May 8.
Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, one of the world's largest movie theater companies, with about 850 theaters and 9,600 screens worldwide, said that over the past seven weeks, four films have already grossed more than $75 million domestically, and the summer moviegoing season has just started.
"That is a powerful indicator also of what is immediately ahead, as blockbuster movie after blockbuster movie after blockbuster movie is set to dazzle moviegoers throughout the coming summer months," he said. "We look forward to welcoming tens and tens of millions of moviegoers to our theaters all summer long."
Handler said June's box office prospects look bright, with Sony Pictures' Masters of the Universe and Paramount's Scary Movie both opening June 5, followed by Universal's Steven Spielberg-directed Disclosure Day opening June 12.
Then comes Disney's Toy Story 5 (June 19), Warner Bros.' Supergirl (June 26), and Paramount's Jackass 5 (June 26).
Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 24, 2026 11:41 ET (15:41 GMT)
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