Skeleton Crew may be enjoying a better reception than previous Star Wars shows, but the record set by its Disney+ debut left fans with a bad feeling about this.
Premiering with two episodes on December 2, 2024, Skeleton Crew is a first for the franchise due to its Amblin-style coming-of-age story from Spider-Man: No Way Home's Jon Watts and the fact it's led by a cast of kids.
Skeleton Crew's Disney+ Viewership Falls Below Other Star Wars Series
According to Nielsen's streaming data, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew experienced the lowest viewership of any Star Wars show's premiere in its first week.
The two-episode debut garnered less than 382 million minutes watched between both episodes, with Episode 1 clocking in at 46 minutes and Episode 2 at 29 minutes.
That's the lowest for any Star Wars show to date and roughly 20% less than The Acolyte, which was famously "canceled" by Star Wars fans.
As a result, Skeleton Crew's debut didn't make it into Disney+'s Top 10 Originals, which is the first time for a Star Wars series.
The following is a breakdown of minutes watched for the premieres of previous Star Wars Disney+ shows:
- The Mandalorian Season 2: 1.032 billion minutes
- The Book of Boba Fett: 389 million minutes (episode length: 37 minutes, including credits)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi: 1.026 billion minutes (two episodes)
- Andor: 624 million minutes (three episodes)
- The Mandalorian Season 3: 823 million minutes
- Ahsoka: 829 million minutes (two episodes)
- The Acolyte: 488 million minutes (two episodes; 41 minutes + 36 minutes)
Skeleton Crew's Viewership Struggles Explained
Since Skeleton Crew received mostly promising reviews, the question is why the premiere stalled at the start.
Apart from being notably different from previous Star Wars Disney+ shows, one reason is likely Skeleton Crew's lack of known characters.
Jude Law's Jod Na Nawood (aka Captain Silvo, Crimson Jack?) is a new character, as is the leading cast of kids from the mysterious planet At Attin.
Ironically, while the lack of Grogu, known Jedis, and familiar canonical characters may have hurt the show's numbers, it's also one of the reasons why this series works and can do something different.
However, perhaps the biggest reason for Skeleton Crew's struggles is Lucasfilm's recent record on Disney+, particularly having to follow The Acolyte.
Apart from the first two seasons of The Mandalorian and Andor, Star Wars streaming shows have primarily been disappointing, with the highly anticipated The Acolyte missing the mark earlier in 2024.
Coupled with Lucasfilm's ongoing struggles to release its announced film projects, audiences may have expected more of the same when Skeleton Crew premiered in December, deciding to either forgo more disappointment or wait and see if it generated buzz.
Whether the show's disappointing Disney+ record will prevent Lucasfilm from greenlighting a second season remains to be seen.
However, if the positive buzz surrounding Skeleton Crew improves its numbers, much like Andor, this sleeper series could eventually prove to be one of Star Wars' much-needed success stories in the coming weeks and months.
Episode 8 of Skeleton Crew airs on Tuesday, January 14.
