Fearing lousy reviews, the Disney Grooming Syndicate is reportedly limiting critic screenings for The Mandalorian & Grogu.
“Disney appears to be cutting back on showing the film to critics,” reports World of Reel. “Some journalists are complaining online that they’ve been told by publicists that The Mandalorian and Grogu won’t be screened for critics in their area, which is odd considering no other Star Wars movie has been treated this way before.”
“In fact, quite a few markets will reportedly not have critic screenings, which suggests a lack of confidence on Lucasfilm’s part toward the film,” adds the report.
Tee hee.
There’s even better news… First, some background…
While I don’t blame any studio for doing this — they do have a hundred-million-dollar product to sell, after all — one of the tricks the studios employ to rig the early reviews is to cherry-pick those invited to the first critic screenings. In this case, Disney has two pools to choose from: brainless Star Wars fanboys and the whores who trade their integrity for access.
In most cases, this is a foolproof approach, unless…
The movie is truly awful.
And, well…
Yes, some of those who attended the early screenings said they loved it. Even those reactions, though, weren’t as effusive as you’d expect from this crowd.
If you hate Disney, as all Normal People who oppose sexualizing and queering kids should, this is wonderful news.
Already, the most optimistic box office projections predict a disaster for Mandalorian and Grogu. By any measure, a Star Wars movie — a freaken Star Wars movie! — opening over the four-day Memorial Day weekend at $70 to $80 million is a disaster. As I noted a few weeks ago:
[T]he notorious flop, Solo: A Star Wars Story, opened to $88 million domestic back in 2018. If you account for inflation, that’s a $113 million opening.
Ignoring inflation, 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (by far the best Star Wars movie since Jedi), opened to $155 million. The Rise of Skywalker (2019) hit $176 million. The Last Jedi (2017) landed at $220 million. The Force Awakens (2015) grabbed $248 million.
Keep in mind that those $70 to $80 million projections came before these early reactions. If this splats on Rotten Tomatoes with something like a 56 percent rating, this sucker could really tank, which would be a fantastic outcome for a studio that preys on children, destroyed the Star Wars franchise with woke politics, and regularly smears, dismisses, and insults the Star Wars fanbase.