New third-party data reveals the most popular Star Wars movies and TV shows on Disney+. Star Wars has been at the heart of Disney+ since its launch in 2019; the streaming service is home to every theatrical release, as well as classic animations made under Lucas himself. The Mandalorian was the first Disney+ Star Wars TV show, and since then, we’ve had a constant stream of releases.
But how popular are the different Star Wars movies and TV shows on Disney+? Streaming services understand that data like this is valuable, so tend to disclose as little as possible. If you want to get an idea of how different things perform, you have to look to third-party analytics companies such as Just Watch. Here’s the Star Wars top 10 according to Just Watch, “compiling data across six years and 60 million users from 140 countries.”
10
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
A Hit For Disney+
- Popularity share: 3.5%
Launching in 2021, there’s a sense in which Star Wars: The Bad Batch – really the first spinoff from The Clone Wars – was the last George Lucas idea. He was the one who created Clone Force 99, mutant clones who served as a black ops team during the Clone Wars and who resisted Order 66. “When you look at the animated тιтles, they’re gonna be a lot lower in terms of viewership than live action,” Luminate’s Jimmy Doyle told ScreenRant last year. That makes The Bad Batch all the more impressive for getting into the top ten.
The Bad Batch ran for three seasons before wrapping up, and it proved a huge success in terms of keeping the fandom engaged. That longevity is likely a major reason it ranks so high, and it certainly helps that each season was better than the one before. It’s no surprise Star Wars animation is set to continue.
9
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
The First Of The Prequel Trilogy
- Popularity share: 3.94%
You may be surprised to see so few movies in this ranking, but there’s a good reason; in terms of runtime, TV shows far exceed them. Plus, the most hardcore fans already have their own copies on Blu-Ray and DVD, making Disney+ superfluous. And yet, there are several exceptions – the most prominent being Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
The most maligned of the prequel trilogy – some viewing orders cut The Phantom Menace entirely – this is nevertheless the beginning of the entire Skywalker saga. Plus, last year The Phantom Menace celebrated its 25th anniversary, and viewership boomed as a result. Prequels nostalgia is a big deal for the fandom right now, and Anakin’s origin story has prospered.
8
Star Wars (1977)
The Movie That Started It All
- Popularity share: 4.11%
It’s not particularly surprising to see few Star Wars movies on this list. But it is gratifying, nonetheless, to see that the first Star Wars movie – responsible for 4.11% of viewership – is so popular. This is likely because so many Star Wars viewing orders begin with the movie Lucas reтιтled “A New Hope,” including those encouraged by the likes of Mark Hamill himself.
Nostalgia is huge in Star Wars, and there’s surely more nostalgia aimed towards A New Hope than anything else. That will probably mean this movie goes up in the ranks over the next couple of years, in the buildup to the movie’s 50th anniversary in 2027. Star Wars remains a classic to this day.
7
The Acolyte
- Popularity share: 4.62%
The Acolyte was Star Wars‘ most controversial TV show, setting the online fandom ablaze. Leslye Headland High Republic TV show was, sadly, the first Star Wars TV show to be canceled; what’s more, The Acolyte‘s viewership explains its cancellation. Viewership waned after the first two episodes, and simply didn’t pick up in time for the finale. That said, The Acolyte has had a constant background presence in various metrics, suggesting it’s still being watched.
The core problem with The Acolyte, though, lies in the budget. The Acolyte had a staggering $230 million budget, which means it needed much higher viewership to be worth the price. Even seventh place in this ranking isn’t good enough for that cost.
6
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The Epic Animated TV Show
- Popularity share: 6.43%
Disney originally canceled Star Wars: The Clone Wars shortly after acquiring Lucasfilm, but ultimately relented in the Disney+ era. This led to the release of The Clone Wars season 7, an epic 12-episode revival that wrapped the story up in spectacular fare and even tied in with Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. It’s no surprise to see how successful this has been for Disney.
It also helps that many of the live-action Star Wars TV shows have largely depended on knowledge of The Clone Wars, prompting people to check it out. The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka all riff on this era, bringing classic animated characters to life at last. Even anthology animated shows have been designed to boost interest in The Clone Wars as well.
5
The Book Of Boba Fett
Surprisingly High, But Is It Good Enough?
- Popularity rating: 6.92%
The Book of Boba Fett is generally seen as the first Lucasfilm Disney+ misstep. Starring Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen, it failed to attract the kind of popular and critical acclaim that earlier shows had enjoyed. That’s largely because it failed to live up to expectations, complete with a rather strange twist partway through in which it essentially turned into The Mandalorian season 2.5.
That makes the show’s higher score here rather surprising, but it may partly be explained by the aforementioned bias towards live-action. The Book of Boba Fett‘s reputation has improved in the general fandom over the years; it’s not unusual to see discussion on social media suggesting it’s seriously underrated. Still, there’s as yet no evidence Lucasfilm intend to revisit the concept or characters.
4
Obi-Wan Kenobi
This Should Have Been Even Bigger
- Popularity rating: 8.17%
Next we have Obi-Wan Kenobi, billed as a quasi-cinematic event due to the return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen. Third-party analytics have confirmed the Disney+ TV show premiered to stratospheric viewership figures, but it unfortunately didn’t stay strong. “Obi-Wan Kenobi’s [viewership] was really high, but that’s because those first two episodes did mᴀssive viewership,” Luminate told us. “Obi-Wan had a 37% decrease in that first week, and then continued to decrease in following weeks.“
Star Wars is a nostalgia-driven franchise, which meant star returns should really have made Obi-Wan Kenobi much bigger than it became. Still, there’s clearly some longer-term rewatching going on, especially in the current anniversary era. It will hopefully continue to perform for Disney.
3
Ahsoka
Officially Renewed For Season 2
- Popularity rating: 9.66%
Starring Rosario Dawson as the live-action Ahsoka Tano, Dave Filoni’s Ahsoka is one of Disney+’s biggest successes – especially given the comparatively low $100 million budget. This was Filoni’s first try making a live-action Star Wars TV show, and season 2 is currently shooting. It’s an important step in the evolution of what fans call the “Mandoverse,” setting up Lars Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn as a major recurring villain.
Lucasfilm is currently dialing down on the TV shows, returning to a focus on the big screen. That makes Ahsoka‘s renewal all the more interesting, especially given this season is using location filming rather than depending on Volume CGI technology. Ahsoka sets up the future of Star Wars, meaning it should have a lasting appeal.
2
Andor
Star Wars’ Best TV Show
- Popularity rating: 9.70%
Starring Diego Luna as the тιтular star, Andor is a surprising hit for Disney+. It’s a prequel series to a prequel movie, starring a character everybody was convinced we didn’t need to see any more of. Sceptics had failed to reckon on the fantastic writing team and a band of skillful actors, ranging from Genevieve O’Reilly to Stellan Skarsgård.
Andor season 1 released to initially lower viewership, but has been noted as having a surprisingly long shelf-life – it gets a lot of new viewers and rewatches in the typical month. Just Watch’s data was compiled during Andor season 2, which means this has probably jumped up a lot. We’re all hoping Andor‘s stars are rightly recognized at the Emmies.
1
The Mandalorian
The Disney+ Flagship
- Popularity rating: 23.15%
Premiering alongside the launch of Disney+ back in 2019, The Mandalorian is the streaming service’s flagship TV show. Created by Jon Favreau and starring Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, it’s had a cultural footprint above and beyond anything else released on the streamer to date. The Mandalorian has inspired an entire “Mandoverse” of spinoffs and tie-ins set during the same time period.
The future of The Mandalorian remains uncertain. We know the stars are headed to the big screen for The Mandalorian and Grogu, bringing Star Wars back to the big screen at last, but we don’t really know whether that will then lead to a season 4. Whatever the case may be, though, this is clearly the biggest Star Wars success story Disney has had since the end of the sequels – and that’s a tremendous accolade.
