A new Star Wars film will finally be released in cinemas next year. In the meantime, the first details of the blockbuster’s budget have emerged – and it is significantly lower than expected.
Star Wars films have always been an expensive undertaking. When George Lucas brought the first part of the saga to the screen in 1977, it was with an incredible budget of $11 million for the time. Later, with the prequel trilogy, he already broke the $100 million mark.
A decade later, the next leap came: every Star Wars film made since Disney bought Lucasfilm has a budget of over $200 million. Depending on the source, we’re even getting close to half a billion. But what about the next movie?
Star Wars budget: The Mandalorian & Grogu is said to have cost only $166 million
With The Mandalorian & Grogu, the popular franchise is set to return to cinemas next year after a seven-year hiatus. According to a report by Collider, the budget for the film is surprisingly low. The screen adaptation of the Mando series is said to have cost only 166.4 million US dollars.
Studios typically don’t release information about the budgets of their films. Thanks to insiders and other sources, however, figures often leak out that give us a rough idea of how many resources go into such a production. In this case, the budget information comes from the California Film Commission.
The Mandalorian & Grogu, the first Star Wars film to be shot in California, was already eligible for a $21.75 million tax break from the CFC in early 2024. It is unclear whether this is actually the final budget. After all, the film is still in production.
Two observations on the preliminary budget information for The Mandalorian & Grogu
Although filming was completed long ago, The Mandalorian & Grogu will spend over a year in post-production before it reaches theaters. Din Djarin and his protégé will not embark on their next adventure until May 21, 2026. Of course, anything can happen during this time, as past projects have shown.
Is the alleged budget a sign of austerity at Lucasfilm and Disney? Or should we look at the budget from the perspective that the first Mando season only cost $100 million? Without more specific information, it’s hard to put this figure into perspective. Nevertheless, we want to make two observations.
Observation No. 1: The well-received Star Wars by Jon Favreau
- With Jon Favreau, one of the most experienced filmmakers to ever direct a Star Wars film is at the helm of Mando & Grogu. Favreau successfully launched Mandoverse on Disney+ and brought Disney blockbusters like The Jungle Book and The Lion King to the big screen.
- Regardless of his artistic vision for the film, Favreau works with a well-rehearsed team that has three Mando seasons and other series such as The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka, which were created in a similar production environment to Mando Film.
Observation No. 2: Smaller budget, smaller risk of failure
- In terms of financial expectations, the smaller budget is interesting because it allows the studio to break even more quickly. A blockbuster of this magnitude usually needs to make two to three times its budget to be considered profitable.
- On top of the budget, there are usually considerable marketing costs. Box office takings also have to be shared with the cinemas themselves and other parts of the distribution chain. Four of the five Star Wars films under Disney have grossed over a billion dollars. One of them was a huge flop.
For the big return to the cinema, Lucasfilm and Disney are surely hoping for another box office hit and not a crash landing like Solo: A Star Wars Story, which failed to even make $400 million in 2018 despite – after extensive reshoots – reportedly having a budget of around $300 million.
Solo proved that not every Star Wars spin-off is a sure-fire success, despite the success of the episode films. In addition, the cinema landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. Even the Marvel Cinematic Universe can no longer rely on every new movie becoming a blockbuster.
Aside from that, The Mandalorian & Grogu face a challenge that no other Star Wars film has had to overcome: Are people willing to actually go to the movies for a story they could previously watch from the comfort of their couch at home on Disney+? We’ll find out in May 2026.
