BOX OFFICE: “Mandalorian and Grogu” sell tickets and toys, “Obsession” builds, “I Love Boosters” underwhelms

From 1977 to 2026, “Star Wars” movie have been money in the May box office bank.

So mediocre reviews aside, comparisons to “Solo” and other lesser “Long time ago in a galaxy far away” tales be damned, here’s the big screen version of the bounty hunter and the baby Yoda puppet making big bucks on another holiday weekend.

Deadline.com is saying that “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” will clear $90 million over the four day Memorial Day weekend. Jon Favreau directed the film based on the spin-off TV series, and a big Thursday night and very good Friday ($34 all-in) set up that projected take. Not a world beater, but a very healthy opening to finish off a most robust spring in the Trumpflation era.

Speaking of pedophiles, the Michael Jackson bio-pic “Michael” is adding maybe as much as $20 million and has cleared the $300 million mark at the domestic box office. It’ll be over $320 million by the start of next weekend.

“Obsession” is turning into a break-out horror title, holding all its audience from last weekend and possibly even slipping past “Michael” if the Saturday, Sunday and Monday audience show up. It’ll clear $18, possibly even hit $20-21 in third place. With a little-known cast and a catchy horror hook, “Obsession” was pulling them in all during the week, and the weekend suggests those ticket buyers are giving it a word of mouth bounce.

Next week — maybe by Thursday — “The Devil Wears Prada 2” will clear the $200 million mark. It is on track to earn another $14 million by midnight Monday and that’ll leave it just shy of $198.

Those darned “Sheep Detectives” are holding onto the family movie audience, collecting another $11 million this four day weekend and clinging to a spot in the top five. They’re closing in on $50 million.

Two other new titles will vie for spots just outside of the top five.

A horror offering from Paramount, “Passenger,” will flirt with $9 million but probably fall short of that.

And the weekend’s most critically-acclaimed new release, the Keke Palmer/Taylor Paige/Naomie Ackie/Demi Moore fashion pilfering picture, “I Love Boosters,” may manage $5 million in more limited release. Love that Keke.

Those three new titles should push “In the Grey” and “Is God Is” and one other title out of the top ten, but we’ll know more about that later Saturday and early Sunday.

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About Roger Moore

Movie Critic, formerly with McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Orlando Sentinel, published in Spin Magazine, The World and now published here, Orlando Magazine, Autoweek Magazine
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