‘Lilo & Stitch’ Sews Up Record $182.7M at Memorial Day Box Office, ‘Mission: Impossible’ Nabs Series-Best $79M

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Stichin: Mission!

The live-action remake of Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” and Tom Cruise’s last “Mission: Impossible” film, produced by Paramount and Skydance, set a record for the biggest Memorial Day weekend ever as people flocked to cinemas in all age groups.

“Disney’s live-action redo of Lilo & Stitch and Tom Cruise’s final Mission: Impossible movie, from Paramount and Skydance, fueled the biggest Memorial Day weekend of all time as attendance skyrocketed across all demographics.”)

In the world of cinema, Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning made history with their impressive openings. Lilo & Stitch shattered expectations by earning an astounding $92.7 million in just four days within the U.S., and a staggering $361.3 million worldwide. On the other hand, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning opened to a series high of $79 million domestically and close to $200 million globally, surpassing its initial estimated earnings of $77.5 million. Over the three-day weekend, Lilo & Stitch grossed an impressive $145 million while Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning earned $64 million. On Memorial Day itself, Lilo & Stitch came very close to setting a new record with $37 million in earnings.

2013 holds the record for the highest Memorial Day weekend box office revenue, with a total of $306 million earned from ticket sales. This was primarily driven by the success of Fast & Furious 6, which grossed an impressive $117 million, and The Hangover Part III, which brought in $50 million. Interestingly, this year saw two Memorial Day releases competing fiercely for the top spot. In 2007, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End opened to a staggering $140 million over the holiday period, with Shrek the Third following closely behind with $67 million in sales.

Even though the blend (mashup) didn’t achieve the same level of cultural impact as Barbenheimer did in July 2023, the powerful fusion of these two films can’t be dismissed when it comes to capturing and splitting audiences.

In a surprising turn of events, the female-led movie “Lilo” surpassed expectations by outperforming the latest male-driven “M:I” title and even dethroning “Top Gun: Maverick” ($160 million) to become the largest Memorial Day opening of all time, unadjusted for inflation. Interestingly enough, this reverses the trend from 2002 when Tom Cruise’s “Minority Report” just barely edged out the original animated version of “Lilo & Stitch” in box office earnings. In North America, “Lilo” soared to the second-highest gross for any four-day holiday weekend, trailing only Marvel and Disney’s “Black Panther” ($242 million) and ranking as the third highest debut ever for a Disney live-action title, both in domestic and global markets. This feat puts Disney ahead of all other studios this year by reaching $2 billion in worldwide ticket sales. The film also marks a milestone as Disney becomes the first studio to reach this significant box office figure in 2023.

Approximately three weeks ago, projections suggested that the opening weekend for Lilo & Stitch would gross around $120 million. However, by Thursday, this figure had climbed to an estimated $165 million. The growth continued further. This surge in earnings can be attributed mainly to the Gen Z generation and younger Millennials.

The movie “Stitch” is drawing attention not just from families, but more so from a large percentage of non-parents and younger audiences. In fact, an astonishing 60% of ticket sales were made by this demographic, which is significantly higher than the usual trend. Teenage girls and adult women under 40, who grew up watching the original Hawaiian movie and TV show about a girl with a difficult family background who adopts a lovable yet mischievous alien dog-like creature, seem particularly intrigued. Analysts predict that this surge in interest is due to the nostalgia factor, much like it was for Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” which grossed $1.1 billion worldwide by appealing to non-families. Rideback, the production company behind both “Lilo” and 2019’s “Aladdin”, is responsible for these successful revivals.

Additionally, it’s drawing a remarkably multicultural crowd. In fact, Latinos, who are the most frequent moviegoers in the U.S., accounted for about 33% of ticket sales. Furthermore, the film achieved the largest opening yet for a live-action Disney reimagining across Latin America.

Both movies received high praise from critics, with many expressing their approval, and they also left the audience feeling ecstatic. For instance, they earned a perfect five-out-of-five rating from viewers surveyed by the top-tier service PostTrak. Notably, Lilo garnered a 70% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes and received an A grade from moviegoers as per CinemaScore.

Final Reckoning, initially screened exclusively on Imax, significantly surpassed the relatively modest $54.7 million five-day debut of Dead Reckoning. It even overshadowed the $61.2 million three-day premiere of Fallout, establishing a new benchmark for the franchise’s opening weekends. Unlike previous M:I films, which haven’t traditionally been big openers due to their older fan base, Final Reckoning attracted a considerable number of mature viewers, with those over 55 accounting for nearly 58% of the audience. The younger demographic, aged 18 to 24, came in second. According to PostTrak, this film directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who often collaborates with Cruise, currently holds an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has been rated A- by CinemaScore.

Chris Aronson, head of distribution at Paramount Domestic, declares success. It’s impressive to achieve this feat for the eighth installment of a series that has been ongoing for thirty years.

One key hurdle for Final Reckoning‘s financial triumph is its massive $400 million budget (including marketing costs), which makes it one of the priciest films ever produced. However, Paramount officials remark that with each new release, they see a boost in the worth of their entire collection, with increased sales and rentals for prior editions, like Lilo & Stitch, which had a more economical net production cost of $100 million.

Worldwide, Lilo & Stitch faced off against Final Reckoning in most places, while the Mission Impossible movie started screening in several key markets last weekend, primarily through previews.

More to come.

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2025-05-27 19:25