Grogu groggy against Backrooms at the box office

On Friday, Backrooms raked in no less than $38.4 million on its opening day, including previews. Projections now point to a debut in the US market of around $80 million. Backrooms crushes Grogu! Not only is this by far the best opening ever for an A24 film, but it also managed to outperform the $81.6 million earned the previous week by the new Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu. The performance is all the more remarkable given that Backrooms cost only $10 million. Its marketing budget is reportedly of a similar size, driven by a highly targeted online campaign. Its premise can be summed up in a few words: a strange door appears in the basement of a furniture store. Star Wars, a franchise in flames? The film is also being released this weekend in about fifty international markets, where it is expected to add approximately $36 million more. Meanwhile, The Mandalorian and Grogu is expected to drop by at least 69% in its second weekend, with around $25 million in revenue. This would be the steepest second-week drop ever recorded for a Star Wars film. Suffice it to say, the audience's return seems as disastrous as the film's artistic performance. With an expected total of $137.3 million by Sunday night, The Mandalorian and Grogu would even fall behind Solo. Disney seems determined to completely burn its golden goose of a franchise. There's one person who must be laughing up his sleeve at Skywalker Ranch: George Lucas.