‘Star Wars’ Box-Office Disappointment Officially Finds Redemption on Streaming

6 days ago 12

Published Oct 17, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 3000 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom. You can also hear Jake every week as the resident film and TV journalist on Track Radio.

Little did Disney expect that two viral horror sensations would derail one of their biggest films of the year. Backrooms and Obsession became the unlikely smash hits of 2026 in early summer, with the latter even becoming the highest-grossing original horror movie of this century and the fifth highest-grossing horror film of all time in a stunning theatrical run. Because of this, The Mandalorian and Grogu earned much less at the box office than most had predicted.

In total, the latest Star Wars movie scored a global box office haul of $345 million against a budget of $165 million, which doesn't account for likely huge marketing costs and points to a notable underperformance for a massive cinematic franchise. In fact, The Mandalorian and Grogu is the lowest-grossing live-action Star Wars movie ever made. This wasn't helped by a mixed reception from critics, with Collider's Aidan Kelley writing, "The Mandalorian and Grogu are neither great nor awful, and that's what makes it one of the galaxy far, far away's most frustrating."

But a poor performance on the big screen doesn't translate to the small screen, with The Mandalorian and Grogu continuing to prove popular almost two months after its streaming debut. At the time of writing, the latest Star Wars movie is one of the most-watched movies on Disney+ in the world. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film also features Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White, and, of course, the hugely popular Grogu, although even everyone's favorite small sidekick couldn't help boost the film's box office fortunes.

Pedro Pascal Returns in the Year's Biggest Movie

On December 18, Pascal will reprise his role as Reed Richards following 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as part of the enormous cast in Avengers: Doomsday. Pascal will rejoin the rest of his First Family, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), in a film that promises to be an enormous box office sensation. Before that, on December 4, Pascal's second film of the year, Behemoth!, will make its screen debut after earning rave reviews out of its festival premiere.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is a big hit on Disney+ right now. For all the latest streaming stories, stay tuned to Collider.