Baby Yoda brought crowds to movie theatres over the US Memorial Day weekend, putting Star Wars film The Mandalorian and Grogu on track to collect roughly $US165 million ($A231 million) around the globe.
The movie topped box office charts in the United States and Canada, where it was expected to bring in about $US102 million.
That would edge above pre-weekend forecasts for Friday through Monday, but rank as the smallest opening for any Star Wars film under Disney.
The new film cost much less to make than other Star Wars instalments, setting a lower bar for profitability.
Mandalorian and Grogu, the first Star Wars movie in seven years, tells the story of a helmeted bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) and his small, green sidekick nicknamed Baby Yoda.
The duo debuted on television in the Disney+ streaming series The Mandalorian in 2019 and made Baby Yoda a pop culture sensation.
Putting the character on the big screen would help jump-start sales of Grogu toys and T-shirts, said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co.
More than 13 million Grogu toys were sold in the first two years after the TV series debuted.
“What Disney really wants this film to do is stabilise the Star Wars universe. I think this helps do that,” Bock said of the opening weekend numbers.
Disney put new Star Wars movies on hold after 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker in order to re-evaluate its big-screen strategy.
Executives concluded they had released too many Star Wars films in theatres too quickly.
Disney’s lowest-grossing Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story, brought in $US103 million over the 2018 Memorial Day weekend and was considered a flop.
The Grogu movie, however, had a smaller production budget than most other Star Wars movies, costing about $US165 million to make rather than the typical $US300 million-plus.
Audiences were more enthusiastic about Grogu than critics. Verified moviegoers gave the movie an 89 per cent positive score, compared with 62 per cent of critics, according to the Rotten Tomatoes website.
Star Wars debuted in 1977 and became one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time with more than $US10 billion in global ticket sales.
Disney purchased the franchise from creator George Lucas in 2012.
The next movie, Star Wars: Starfighter featuring Ryan Gosling, is scheduled to hit cinemas in May 2027.
