I hit refresh on the Disney+ homepage that May 4 and felt a small jolt. The carousel looked familiar, but the streaming numbers told a different story. You could see where attention was gathering — and where it had drifted.
I’m going to walk you through the data, what surprised me, and what it means for how we celebrate Star Wars each May the Fourth.
I opened Nielsen’s report and Andor led the way
I’m not exaggerating: Nielsen data shared with The Hollywood Reporter put Andor at the top of the heap on May 4, 2025. You remember why — the series was running hot in its second and final season, and the Emmy- and Peabody-winning pedigree made revisits feel like required viewing.
The numbers show something simple: new-season momentum still drives discovery and rewatch behavior. Diego Luna’s performance and the show’s critical buzz turned Andor into a lighthouse in the streaming fog.
What was the most streamed Star Wars title on May 4, 2025?
The clear winner was Andor, buoyed by fresh episodes released in late April 2025 and strong critical awards. Nielsen’s snapshot captured both new viewers and people rewatching the 2022 first season.
Fans returned to the films, especially A New Hope and the prequels
I scanned the list and saw a steady thread back to the movies everyone grew up with. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope placed second — which makes sense when millions mark May 4 as a day to re-engage with George Lucas’ original film.
After that came a mix of familiar theatrical entries: The Phantom Menace, The Empire Strikes Back, Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones, and Return of the Jedi. That spread tells you that, at least on a designated franchise day, the appeal of theatrical entries remains strong.
I watched the list and the sequel trilogy was conspicuously absent
I expected more of the newer films to show up. They didn’t. The sequel trilogy’s absence is the most striking gap in the top ten.
Instead the mix skewed toward original and prequel-era nostalgia, plus a couple of streaming-born successes. The absence suggests either streaming fatigue for those later films or a generational split in what fans want to rewatch on this particular holiday.
Why wasn’t The Mandalorian in the top 10 on Star Wars Day?
It’s notable that The Mandalorian — the Disney+ poster child with three seasons across 2019–2023 — didn’t make the top ten. Part of that may be calendar timing: the franchise was gearing up for a May 22 theatrical return with The Mandalorian and Grogu, and viewers often save episodic binges for different moments. Disney also has a crowded catalogue, and new-season pushes (like Andor) can re-prioritize attention.
How did Andor perform on Disney+?
Nielsen’s snapshot showed strong engagement tied to episode drops in April 2025 and sustained interest in the first season. Industry tools and measurement firms like Nielsen still matter here — they translate streaming behavior into a clear narrative about what drove viewing that day.
A surprise: animated entries cracked the top ten
I checked the ranking and found two animated properties inside the top ten, which felt worth pausing on. The then-new Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld (which released all episodes on May 4, 2025) landed at nine, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars ranked ten.
That outcome shows fans still treat animation as part of the franchise’s core mythology, not just filler for kids. For streamers and studios, it’s a reminder that release strategy — dropping a full season on an event date — can drive concentrated viewing spikes.
Sources: Nielsen viewing data reported by The Hollywood Reporter, industry awards and credits for Andor (Emmy, Peabody), and release schedules for Disney+ and theatrical windows.
So tell me: after a year of streaming experiments, are you more likely to queue a current-series binge or rewatch a film classic on the next May the Fourth?