This weekend marks May 4th, aka May The Fourth, aka Star Wars Day, when fans of the franchise celebrate around the world and this year, Disney is giving us plenty of new content to enjoy, with a new animated series, “Star Wars: Tales Of The Underworld”, a re-release of “Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith” and even a whole Fortnite season dedicated to Star Wars.

Another major new release that fans will enjoy is the second season of “Andor: A Star Wars Story,” which is currently halfway through. Six more episodes will be released over the next two weeks.

The second season takes place as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound. Rife with political intrigue and danger, the series is a prequel to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which portrayed a heroic band of rebels who steal the plans to the Empire’s weapon of mass destruction—The Death Star—setting the stage for the events of the original 1977 film. “Andor” sets the clock back five years from the events of “Rogue One” to tell the story of the film’s hero, Cassian Andor, and his transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.

To celebrate May 4th, Parrot Analytics has released new data as part of its streaming economics system. The data calculates that since “Andor” premiered in September 2022 through the end of 2024, the show has brought in over $300 million in streaming subscriber revenue for Disney+ globally, outpacing other live-action Star Wars series like “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Ahsoka.”  And that will only continue to increase with the release of the second season.     However, it’s important to note that this information is an estimate and is not based on any real data directly from Disney.

There are many reasons why “Andor” has outperformed other shows. First, it’s almost twice as long as many of the Star Wars Disney+ shows, with twelve episodes. Combined with a weekly release schedule and audience demand peaking only at the finale, the first season of “Andor” was an excellent retention tool for Disney+, keeping audiences around and engaged.

Parrott also revealed that  “Andor” has about the same gender breakdown as the overall Star Wars franchise, which is over 70% male.  The data also showed how “Andor” appealed to older audiences, with 60% of viewers being over 30, when it’s usually around 50%.      “The Mandalorian” was able to expand the audience, pulling in a significantly more female audience than other shows in the franchise.  

Another major factor for “Andor” was that interest in the series continued to build, resulting in the peak viewership coming for the finale, as the show pulled in audiences throughout the release window, gradually increasing.  Whereas, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” had a strong start, but it peaked for the debut and just went downhill from there on.

It’s also interesting to see how some other shows have compared, with the animated series “The Bad Batch” proving a hit for fans, but also “Skeleton Crew” was able to build its audience week to week.  However, the ill-fated “Acolyte” peaked at the mid-way point, and audiences never returned.

It’s always difficult to see how original programming generates revenue for streaming services like Disney+. Original shows help attract new subscribers, retain existing subscribers, and generate additional revenue from advertising. This is in addition to money from merchandise and other licensing deals.   

“Andor” does seem like a show that has continued to build an audience and, over time, will continue to be of value to the streaming service.  But there’s little doubt that while this report indicates Disney has made millions of dollars from shows like “Andor”, it’s still massively behind the potential a theatrical release can do.  This highlights why the fourth season of “The Mandalorian” has been reformatted into a film, since not only can Disney make money throughout its theatrical, digital, and home video release, but it will also boost Disney+ revenues.   

It also shows us why Disney has been scaling back its efforts on original programming, especially with expensive titles from big franchises like Marvel and Star Wars, because it seems Disney has found that spending hundreds of millions of dollars on original shows, just isn’t working.

What do you think about “Andor” making over $300 million? 

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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