In 2021, Marvel Studios' continuous slate of original series dominated Disney+ thanks to shows like WandaVision, Loki, and Hawkeye; and while Marvel has new shows in store for 2022, Lucasfilm looks to follow suit with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Season 2 of The Bad Batch, and possibly Season 3 of The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. However, Star Wars' return to Disney+ technically began in December 2021 with the studio's second-ever live-action series, The Book of Boba Fett.
Starring Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen, The Book of Boba Fett followed the original trilogy bounty hunter's rise as Tatooine's newest Daimyo while also highlighting his past via flashbacks.
Throughout the show's seven-episode run, reception was mixed at best, especially since the show's two most popular episodes barely involved the title character at all. Regardless, it appears that all eyes were on how this series would conclude; and according to recent stats, the audience for Star Wars content on Disney+ has never been bigger.
Book of Boba Fett's Finale Topped The Mandalorian
Deadline reported that the finale for The Book of Boba Fett is now the highest-viewed Star Wars finale on Disney+, having been viewed in 1.5 million U.S. households. These viewership numbers come from Samba TV, which measures Smart TV households who view an episode for a minimum of five minutes.
In regard to The Book of Boba Fett's conclusion, Samba TV tracked the finale's performance from Wednesday, February 9, which was the date of the episode's premiere, through Sunday, February 13.
Titled "In the Name of Honor," The Book of Boba Fett's seventh episode wasn't just the culmination of Boba Fett's story from this particular tale. It also followed the series' sixth episode, which featured Din Djarin's Mandalorian, Grogu, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker, and the live-action introduction of the animated Clone Wars villain, Cad Bane.
Despite the fact the finale received the worst rating of the entire season on Rotten Tomatoes, the episode's 1.5 million viewership numbers were 36% higher than The Mandalorian's Season 2 finale (1.1 million), whose post-credits stinger announced The Book of Boba Fett as Lucasfilm's next live-action series.
The finale for The Mandalorian's sophomore season drew 1.1 million views in December of 2020, where the numbers were tracked from December 18 through December 22. Until Boba Fett, viewership for this season of Mando appeared to have topped that of the inaugural season's finale, as well as that of Season 7 of The Clone Wars and Season 1 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
Even though Boba Fett's final episode now holds the record for viewership in terms of Disney+'s Star Wars shows, it failed to top Marvel's season finale of Loki, which produced 1.9 million views from July 14, 2021, through July 18, 2021.
A Bounty of Disney+ Data
At first glance, these numbers are surprising considering the lackluster reception for The Book of Boba Fett's last episode, especially in comparison to The Mandalorian's Season 2 finale, which delighted fans with the surprise appearance of Return of the Jedi-era Luke Skywalker.
However, there are several explanations for this.
First of all, Mando's Season 2 finale debuted on a Friday in December of 2020, while The Book of Boba Fett's last episode premiered on a Wednesday in February of 2022. The latter's mid-week release was a model Disney+ adopted ahead of Loki's debut in 2021 and has appeared to work well for the mouse house's streaming service ever since.
Therefore, while Boba Fett's Chapter 7 had to contend with Super Bowl LVI on the final day of its tracking, it likely didn't have much competition upon its premiere due to its Wednesday release. Meanwhile, Mando's second season finale debuted at the start of the weekend and right in the middle of the holiday season.
Something else to consider is that Disney+ has increased its number of subscribers within the past year with a confirmed 42.9 million subs between the U.S. and Canada alone.
In addition to The Book of Boba Fett's finale following its own penultimate episode, which was packed with Star Wars cameos and fan-favorite moments, Star Wars' latest series also had the benefit of following a year of MCU Disney+ shows that dominated fan and internet conversation.
Regardless of how fans and critics felt about The Book of Boba Fett and its conclusion, not only do these stats show that demand is high for live-action Star Wars, it also proves that the franchise's Disney+ viewership base has only grown in the time between Mando's second season and that of Boba Fett's.
All seven episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are available to stream on Disney+.
