New ‘Star Wars’ Film ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Disappoints at Box Office Disney’s latest Star Wars installment, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” has opened not with a galactic bang but a commercial thud, raising sharp questions about franchise fatigue, cultural politics, and studio strategy. At the same time, a microbudget horror film, “Obsession,” is quietly rewriting box-office math.

Liberal-leaning coverage emphasizes the stark economic contrast: an ultra-cheap indie horror title “being CRUSHED by an Independent Horror Movie That Cost Next to Nothing to Make” at the expense of Disney’s lavish production. “Obsession,” reportedly made for under $1 million, has vastly overperformed projections, pulling in over $17 million its first weekend and surging in its second, a “nearly unheard of” pattern that has already driven global grosses past $70 million and toward a possible $100 million. From this vantage point, the story is less about Star Wars specifically and more about audiences rewarding fresh, lower-risk concepts over bloated blockbusters.

Conservative outlets, by contrast, frame the disappointment as the culmination of Lucasfilm’s mismanagement under former president Kathleen Kennedy. One article bluntly declares, “Kathleen Kennedy strikes again: New ‘Star Wars’ film sets worst record possible for Disney,” tying the film’s dismal opening to a broader record of “underperformance” and fan alienation during her tenure. That same coverage underscores that the movie’s break-even point is estimated between $500 million and $600 million worldwide, making the weak debut not just embarrassing but financially perilous.

Both perspectives agree the numbers are bad; they diverge on why. Liberal-leaning analysis stresses market appetite for cheaper, creator-driven fare like “Obsession,” while conservative commentary highlights the “Kennedy curse” and earlier decisions to reshape the franchise’s tone and themes. What unites them is an implicit verdict: the Star Wars brand no longer guarantees box-office dominance, and Disney’s next moves will determine whether this is a one-off stumble or a structural collapse.