Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Hits Digital After Weak Box Office

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu has arrived on premium video-on-demand platforms nearly two months after its May 22 theatrical debut, offering viewers a chance to rent the film for $24.99 or purchase it for $29.99. The digital release includes featurettes and audio commentary, giving fans a look behind the scenes of a project that carried heavy expectations as the first Star Wars theatrical release since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker. For subscribers who skipped theaters, this marks the first legal way to watch the Mandalorian's big-screen adventure — and the numbers suggest plenty of people waited.

The film's box office performance tells a sobering story for a franchise that once printed money. Grossing just over $344 million worldwide against a reported $165 million budget, The Mandalorian and Grogu barely broke even by Hollywood accounting standards and claims the unwanted title of lowest-grossing live-action Star Wars movie to date. A second-weekend drop exceeding 60% in theater traffic signaled early that word-of-mouth wasn't carrying the film, and the critical reception hasn't been kind either. The movie sits at 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, narrowly scraping "Certified Fresh" status, while IGN awarded it a 5/10 with Tom Jorgenson summing up the disappointment bluntly:

"This is not the way."

Tom Jorgenson, IGN

Grogu’s Digital Deliverance

The PVOD version bundles several extras that may interest die-hard fans. Featurettes and audio commentary accompany both the rental and purchase options, and one featurette notably suggests The Mandalorian series effectively ended in 2023 — raising questions about whether a fourth season will ever materialize on Disney+. The movie itself functionally replaced that planned fourth season, a creative pivot that now looks questionable given the film's reception. For collectors, physical media arrives soon: DVD, standard Blu-ray, and a 4K steelbook are available for preorder with an August 25 street date.

Beyond the immediate release, the franchise machine keeps turning. Star Wars Visions will spawn its first spin-off, The Ninth Jedi, on Disney+ next month, while Ryan Gosling is set to lead Star Wars: Starfighter in theaters next May. These projects signal Disney's commitment to expanding the universe across formats, but the Mandalorian and Grogu's stumble complicates the narrative. The film needed to prove the franchise could still draw theatrical audiences after a five-year absence; instead, it may have reinforced the perception that Star Wars works better as streaming content.

Star Wars’ Box Office Disappointment

Disney+ subscribers wondering when the film joins the service can look to Marvel for a reliable template. Marvel titles typically reach Disney+ roughly 90 days after theatrical release, and with The Mandalorian and Grogu opening May 22, that window points to early September. This would be the first Star Wars theatrical film to make the jump to Disney+ since the service launched in late 2019 — a timeline quirk that underscores how long the franchise stayed away from theaters. For now, the $24.99 rental or $29.99 purchase remains the only way to stream it legally.

The broader question lingers: what comes next for Din Djarin and Grogu? The series built a loyal following on Disney+ over three seasons, and the movie functionally replacing a fourth season looks increasingly like a miscalculation. With Starfighter on the horizon and Visions expanding into spin-offs, Disney has plenty of Star Wars content in the pipeline — but the Mandalorian's theatrical experiment suggests the franchise's biggest draw may still be the small screen.