Further Proof That Disney Killed Star Wars: 'Mandalorian and Grogu' Was Beaten at the Box Office by a Horror Film With a Budget of $750K

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When I posted this right after the holiday weekend:

… there was a chance that the movie with perhaps the worst, most unimaginative title in the history of cinema (honestly, imagine scrapping a title like Raiders of the Lost Ark in favor of Indiana and Marion), might rally in its second week in theaters and make a liar out of me.

But all this week did was prove my premise was more true than I realized. Star Wars is deader than I thought:

Source -  There is effectively no precedent to describe what’s happening with Obsession right now, the low-budget horror film that has achieved milestones like increasing 39% in revenue in its second weekend after word-of-mouth spread.

But that was even more impressive given that it was going up against the first new Star Wars movie in seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu, which did win the weekend handily. But now? Obsession is…beating it.

Daily box office tracking is now showing that Obsession is now beating The Mandalorian and Grogu handily as of this Wednesday, earning $5.6 million domestically to Mando’s $4.1 million on that day. And again, this is the second week of Obsession’s release (this Wednesday is practically a non-existent drop from last Wednesday) and this is Mando’s first week.

By way of explanation, Obsession is a well-regarded horror movie. The premise is a familiar one. A guy makes a wish for his crush to love him. And as the title implies, it goes horribly, horribly wrong. Usually because the object of the wish gets clingy and overbearing and things get dangerous. It's one of the most common tropes in the history of TV and movies. It's been used by everyone from The Twilight Zone to Harry Potter to Fairly Oddparents to Rick and Morty. But by all accounts, Obsession does an incredible job with this familiar premise:

And so the word of mouth has driven the film to No. 1 at the box office in a way that, to repeat, is basically unheard of in the industry:

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… of Obsession that required no caveats. A second weekend jump nearing 40 percent is virtually unprecedented in the annals of modern box office tracking, and there really is no direct apples-to-apples comparison available.“ 

This is a movie that cost $750,000 to make. And it's not like the beginning of summer is a big time for the horror genre. From the moment Jaws hit theaters in 1975, Memorial Day weekend until about the first week is August is all about blockbusters with massive budgets. The kind of movie-going experience that drives merchandise sales and inspires attractions at theme parks. The kinds of movies that fit my criteria of what will get me out of the house to buy a theater ticket in the summer. That they have to have a helicopter (all action movies have helicopters), a space ships, or a sword. 

Late May has never been the time for dark, psychological thrillers that explore complex themes of human desires and toxic relationships. And yet, here we are. The reason being that what the public wants more than anything is original storytelling. Or it's not original, at least let it be clever and well-crafted, by an artist with a creative vision. And not just repackaged slop. Nostalgia bait slapped together around a conference room table by corporate flacks to appeal to test-screening audiences. 

Which is precisely what Star Wars has become. And why Mando and Baby Yoda is doing worse numbers than what was previously the biggest failure by Disney Star Wars. From the same Forbes article:

The news is less good for The Mandalorian and Grogu, which has already passed its $165 budget, but is tracking below Solo, the movie that did so poorly it helped scare Disney off doing Star Wars features entirely. That ended with a $392 million run, compared to Disney’s other five Star Wars movies doing a billion or more. Mando will not come close to that.

By way of perspective, Obsession's budget of $750,000 is 0.45% of M&G's $165 million. As someone on X said (I can't find the post), it making it to No. 1 at the box office over the first Star Wars movie in seven years is like a moisture farmer blowing up the Death Star. And it's the movie's third week, where Mando hasn't even been out a week. 

So I say what I said Tuesday. Star Wars is dead. And unlike JJ Abram's Palpatine, it's not coming back to life somehow:

No way. No how.