Disney sends Baby Yoda to bring 'Star Wars' fans to theaters

"The Mandalorian and Grogu," the first "Star Wars" movie in seven years, heads to theaters this weekend as Walt Disney DIS.N bets on the charm of Baby Yoda to re-energize the film franchise.

Disney put the "Star Wars" movies on hiatus following 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker" after executives concluded they had released too many films in a short period. That same year, the "Star Wars" TV show "The Mandalorian" became a hit on the Disney+ streaming service.

The series introduced a small green creature with oversized eyes, initially dubbed Baby Yoda and later revealed to be named Grogu, that became a pop culture sensation.

Grogu's big-screen adventure, however, may open with the smallest domestic box office result for any "Star Wars" movie since Disney bought the franchise from creator George Lucas in 2012. Analysts predict "The Mandalorian and Grogu" will take in roughly $75 million to $100 million over the Memorial Day weekend at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

Disney's lowest-grossing "Star Wars" film, "Solo: A Star Wars Story," brought in $103 million over Memorial Day weekend in 2018 and was considered a flop.

"What Disney is trying to figure out is, theatrically speaking, is Star Wars still essential? Do people still feel like they need to go see it in the theaters?" said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co.

Bock said he expected "Mandalorian and Grogu" to bring in roughly $85 million domestically through Monday. That would be a success, Bock said, given the film cost about $165 million to make compared with $300 million-plus production budgets for other "Star Wars" movies. It also would spark more sales of Baby Yoda toys and t-shirts, he said.

CRITICS SO FAR ARE SPLIT

The movie stars Pedro Pascal as a helmeted Mandalorian bounty hunter who works with Grogu to free a prisoner in the galaxy far, far away.

At a fan event in London, Pascal pitched the movie as "a big-screen experience" like the ones he watched as a child. The franchise debuted in 1977 and has taken in more than $10 billion at theaters worldwide.

"People lost their minds over 'Star Wars,' which is why it exists as it does today and why it needs to be on a big screen again," he said.

Critics so far are split on the movie, which as of Wednesday had a 60% positive rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

Daily Beast entertainment critic Nick Schager called the film "a swashbuckling space Western that deftly marries combative spectacle and kid-friendly cuteness." Bilge Ebiri, Vulture and New York film critic, found the movie "drab and stone-faced to a fault."

Disney's next movie, "Star Wars: Starfighter" featuring Ryan Gosling, is scheduled to hit cinemas in May 2027.

-Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Evans in London; editing by David Gaffen/Reuters