Kathleen Kennedy may have left her post in January, but her influence is still being felt at Disney studio Lucasfilm.
The former studio president became synonymous with underperformance during her tenure and was often at odds with fans over her choices to feminize popular intellectual property.
Disney’s break-even point for the film is somewhere between $500 million and $600 million for a worldwide gross.
Kennedy curse
At the time of her departure, Kennedy still had two films yet to be released, and one of those was “Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu,” which opened on Memorial Day weekend.
While the film showed some promise with $33.8 million on opening night, attendance sunk to half by Memorial Day, concluding with about $82 million domestically, according to Box Office Mojo.
Disney had projected $97 million to $98 million for the four-day opening but got nowhere close. In fact, the movie now ranks below “Solo: A Star Wars Story” — which took in $84.4 million in its opening — as Disney’s lowest “Star Wars” debut. To make matters worse, the “Solo” movie only had three days to attract fans to its opening rather than four.
For many people, that is a boatload of cash, but for “Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu,” its worldwide total of $168 million is barely enough to recover its budget of an estimated $165 million.
Furthermore, Collider reported that Disney’s break-even point for the film is somewhere between $500 million and $600 million for a worldwide gross. The Han Solo movie, for example, only made $393 million worldwide.
RELATED: How Hollywood tries to masculinize femininity — and makes everyone miserable
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney
Vote Pedro?
Disney still has another Kennedy project slated for the same time next year with “Star Wars: Starfighter,” set for release on May 28, 2027. Kennedy is credited as producer for that film, which features much bigger star power than the most recent flick, which included the outspoken activist Pedro Pascal.
Pascal has openly talked about helping co-stars with their gender journeys and comes from a staunch communist family in Chile.
“Star Wars: Starfighter,” however, has more widely liked performers like Ryan Gosling and Amy Adams attached to the film.
RELATED: FEMPIRE STRIKES BACK: Kathleen Kennedy leaves ‘Star Wars’; is it too soon for fans to celebrate?
CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Fan slander
Kennedy took “Star Wars” fans head-on during her time at the studio, even accusing them of attacking women who were unhappy with her productions.
In what has now become a trope, Kennedy blamed a “male-dominated” fanbase for the reason the show “The Acolyte” underperformed.
“I think a lot of the women who step into ‘Star Wars’ struggle with this a bit more. Because of the fan base being so male dominated, they sometimes get attacked in ways that can be quite personal,” she said in 2024.
Kennedy noted that “anyone who engages in bigotry, racism, or hate speech … I don’t consider a fan.”
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