The Mandalorian And Grogu blasts to first place in North American weekend box office

Disney's Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu saw the much-adored Baby Yoda and his adoptive guardian sweep the North American box office with an estimated US$102 million (S$130 million) take through Monday (May 25), industry estimates showed.

The film is a jump to the big screen for the hit streaming series, and the first Star Wars film to be released in theatres since 2019's The Rise Of Skywalker. 

It appeared on some 4,300 screens in its opening weekend, Exhibitor Relations estimated.

The takings are "not on the level of the primary Star Wars films", said industry analyst David Gross. "But these are big numbers and this is how spinoffs perform."

"The movie is a piece of the story, and it's earning a piece of the business," he added.

Jumping to second place, Focus Features' original horror film Obsession drew US$28.5 million in sales on its second weekend, bringing its total earnings to an estimated US$59 million. 

Trade magazine Variety credits some of its popularity to an exceptional performance by star Inde Navarrette that "demands awards attention".

Lionsgate brought home the box office's weekend bronze medal as Michael took home US$25.7 million this weekend for a total of US$319.9 million. The biopic based on pop icon Michael Jackson was still thrilling fans but dropped out of the top spot in its fifth weekend on the silver screen.

The fashionable fan favourite, The Devil Wear's Prada 2, dropped to fourth place but still earned another US$16.5 million this weekend for a total of US$200 million.

MGM's The Sheep Detectives, a farmyard whodunnit, took in US$12.5 million over the weekend for a total of US$47 million – marking a fifth-place finish.