Disney
This year, Americans are gathering on Memorial Day weekend for barbecues, picnics, and, apparently, “Lilo & Stitch.“
Movie theaters earned a record $325 million at the box office this weekend, the most-ever for a Memorial Day weekend, with Disney’s live-action reboot of “Lilo & Stitch” claiming the top spot.
“Lilo & Stitch” brought home a whopping $145 million in its opening weekend, while “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” starring Tom Cruise brought in another $63 million. Continued strong showings from “Sinners” and “Thunderbolts*” also contributed to the record turnout.
“Lilo & Stitch” is expected to make over $180 million by the end of the day Monday, which would unseat “Top Gun: Maverick,” which earned $160 million when it opened on Memorial Day weekend in 2022, as the highest-grossing Memorial Day debut of all time.
It’s a comforting sign for the film industry, which has weathered several storms since the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything for movie theaters. At the time, theaters transformed into ghost towns, and the multibillion-dollar industry came to a near halt. The rise of streaming has also eaten into its profits, as did the 2023 strike by actors and writers.
The success of “Lilo & Stitch” also marks a positive turn for Disney’s live-action reboots, several of which have performed poorly in recent years.
Disney’s live-action “Snow White,” a remake of the 1937 animated classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” opened to disappointing numbers in March. Disney’s live-action remake of “Dumbo,” directed by Tim Burton, also flopped at the box office in 2019.
The debut of “Lilo & Stitch” is now one of the best-ever debuts of Disney’s live-action remakes, following “The Lion King,” which made $191 million over three days in 2019, and “Beauty and the Beast,” which collected $174 million over three days in 2017.
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