This is not the way: Bad news for Star Wars at the box office

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · May 25, 2026 · 410 words · By David Mouriquand

film criticism Franchise Decline Box Office Performance

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Daily briefing

What to know about film criticism

'The Mandalorian And Grogu', the Star Wars franchise’s first big screen outing since 2019’s 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker', has broken an unfortunate record.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center88%

Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

'The Mandalorian And Grogu', the Star Wars franchise’s first big screen outing since 2019’s 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker', has broken an unfortunate record.

Why it matters

It has opened to the lowest box office in the franchise’s history.

Common ground

The numbers are in, and it’s not looking great for Star Wars’ return to the multiplex.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Hasty Generalization: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this film criticism story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that contributing to a total $165m global box office?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/culture/2026/05/25/bad-news-for-star-wars-as-the-mandal…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

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Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Hasty Generalization 80% confidence

Drawing broad conclusions from a small or unrepresentative sample.

Why it matters: Recognizing hasty generalization helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

verified Verified By Reference 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “contributing to a total $165m global box office.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state the film earned $165 million over the four-day frame globally.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (called The Mandalorian and Grogu on screen) is a 2026 American science fiction film directed by Jon Favreau, who co-wrote the film with Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mandalorian_and_Grogu

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Din Grogu () or simply Grogu, colloquially referred to as Baby Yoda, is a character from the Star Wars Disney+ original television series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. He is an infant mem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grogu

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Din Djarin (pronounced ), known as The Mandalorian, or Mando for short, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, who appears as the titular protagonist of the Disney+ television series The Mandalori…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandalorian_(character)

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 2: “Solo ended up making $392.9m at the global box office on a $275m budget.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms a worldwide gross of $393.2 million (very close to $392.9m) and a production budget of around $300 million (the claim says $275m, which is within the typical range of reported estimates for this film).

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web search NEUTRAL — Solo: A Star Wars Story grossed $213.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $179.4 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $393.2 million.[11] With an estimated production…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solo:_A_Star_Wars_Story

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web search NEUTRAL — The Mandalorian and Grogu, the new Star Wars film which continues the story of Disney+ show The Mandalorian, has failed to set the box office alight. Photograph: Nicola Goode/Lucasfilm/Disney/AP.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/may/25/the-mandalorian…

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web search NEUTRAL — Box Office: ‘Michael’ Nears $800 Million, ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ Hits $600 Million Globally 13 hours ago.At the international box office, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” earned $64 million for a global sta…
https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/mandalorian-and-gro…

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Claim 3: “The Mandalorian and Grogu has a more modest budget of $165m”

CORROBORATED

Both CNBC and a web search result report the production budget as approximately $165 million.

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web search NEUTRAL — Grogu explores The Mandalorian and Grogu Watch Party Island in Fortnite.Jon Favreau says the movie-level budget for ‘THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU’ allowed them to bring creatures to life on a scale not see…
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…

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web search NEUTRAL — Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu had a reported production budget of $165 to $166 million, making it the least expensive Star Wars.
https://deadline.com/2026/05/box-office-mandalorian-and-grog…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 4: “The film, which stars Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian bounty hunter accompanied by his tiny companion Grogu, made $102m at the domestic box office (North America and Canada) over the US’s four-day Memorial Day weekend”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results specifically cite the $102 million domestic figure for the four-day Memorial Day weekend.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kathleen Kennedy (born June 5, 1953) is an American film producer who served as the president of Lucasfilm from 2012 to 2026. She co-founded the production company Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Kennedy_(producer)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Passenger is a 2026 American supernatural horror film directed by André Øvredal and written by T.W. Burgess and Zachary Donohue. The film stars Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, and Melissa Leo. In the film…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_(2026_film)

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “The Mandalorian and Grogu... has scored the lowest box office opening for a Star Wars film since Disney took over the IP.”

CORROBORATED

Corroborated by Flipboard and other web search results stating it is the lowest opening since Disney bought the franchise.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Mandalorian and Grogu – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score to the 2026 film of the same name composed and produced by Ludwig Göransson. The soundtrack album was released in both …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mandalorian_and_Grogu_(sou…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “The next Star Wars film, Star Wars: Starfighter, which will star Ryan Gosling, is set to hit cinemas in May 2027.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a film titled 'Star Wars: Starfighter' starring Ryan Gosling for 2027.

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Claim 7: “Solo: A Star Wars Story... managed $103m over the same Memorial Day frame.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the film 'Solo' is verified, the specific $103m Memorial Day figure is not explicitly confirmed across multiple independent sources in the provided evidence; it is mentioned in the context of comparing the two films but lacks broad corroboration.

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web search NEUTRAL — Solo: A Star Wars Story is a 2018 American space Western film directed by Ron Howard and written by Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solo:_A_Star_Wars_Story

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web search NEUTRAL — According to Box Office Mojo, Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu recorded the 12th biggest opening weekend among Memorial Day releases. It achieved this feat by beating Steven Spielberg’s The Lost W…
https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/star-wars-the-mandalorian-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The new Star Wars film The Mandalorian and Grogu has topped the box office at the start of Memorial Day weekend, but remains on course for an opening weekend on par with the lowest opening in the sci-…
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/…

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Claim 8: “It has opened to the lowest box office in the franchise’s history.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (Flipboard, Sarah Whitten/Web Search, and YouTube box office analysis) report that the film had the lowest opening in the franchise's history.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The third season of the American television series The Mandalorian is part of the Star Wars franchise, set after the events of the film Return of the Jedi (1983). It continues the story of a bounty hu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mandalorian_season_3

+ 4 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 9: “Disney bought the franchise from creator George Lucas in 2012.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Widely known and confirmed by the provided cross-reference (Daily Maverick) and general knowledge of the 2012 acquisition.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — Disney purchased the franchise from creator George Lucas in 2012
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-25-baby-yoda…

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Claim 10: “'The Mandalorian And Grogu' is the Star Wars franchise’s first big screen outing since 2019’s 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and Disney Wiki, confirm that 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' is the first theatrical Star Wars film since 'The Rise of Skywalker' in 2019.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.