"Anime duo 'Lilo & Stitch' collaborate with Tom Cruise and 'Mission Impossible' series for a colossal Memorial Day weekend"
In a monumental Memorial Day weekend, Disney's live-action remake of "Lilo & Stitch" crushed box office records, securing the second-largest domestic opening of the year with a staggering $145.5 million, just behind "A Minecraft Movie."
The much-anticipated movie, a faithful retelling of the 2002 original's tale about a six-legged alien and a Hawaiian girl, outperformed even the loftiest expectations. It narrowly missed surpassing the $185 million opening of "The Lion King" in 2019.
"Lilo & Stich" dethroned Tom Cruise's latest blockbuster, "Top Gun: Maverick," to become the biggest Memorial Day weekend earner ever, with global estimates placing it over $300 million. Paramount Pictures' "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning," Cruise's eighth and potentially final outing as Ethan Hunt in the franchise, finished a distant second, still earning a franchise-record $63 million.
The spy thriller, directed by Cruise's longtime collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, was also the top global earner with $127 million. Cruise, a tireless global advocate for his movies and a vocal supporter of theatergoing, has played a significant role in the film's success.
The Memorable Memorial Day Weekend Box OfficeThe Memorial Day weekend box office blasted past last year's numbers, more than doubling the $132 million earned during the same period in 2024. The industry is poised to have its best Memorial Day weekend yet, with an estimated total of $325 million.
While some have voiced skepticism about Disney's live-action and CGI remakes of its animated classics, "Lilo & Stitch" tapped into a widespread love for the film's offbeat duo and outperformed PG-13 releases. Its success coincides with an intriguing trend in which PG-rated films are dominating the box office, bolstered by lower kids' ticket prices.
Top Movies by Domestic Box Office
As final domestic figures are released on Monday, the following list summarizes the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
- "Lilo & Stitch" - $145.5 million
- "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" - $63 million
- "Final Destination: Bloodlines" - $19.7 million
- "Thunderbolts" - $9.2 million
- "Sinners" - $8.8 million
- "The Last Rodeo" - $5.3 million
- "Friendship" - $4.6 million
- "A Minecraft Movie" - $2.2 million
- "The Accountant 2" - $2 million
- "Hurry Up Tomorrow" - $740,000
This story was first published on May 25, 2025. It was updated on May 26, 2025, to correct the title of the "Lilo & Stitch" movie throughout.
Condensed Business Stories:
- A Look at Innovative Approaches to Attract millennials and Generation Z to Las Vegas Casinos.
- A deep dive into the mystery surrounding an elderly man whose life savings were mailed to him but ended up missing.
- Nvidia's chief shares insights on the unintended consequences of U.S. chip controls on China.
- West Australians prepare for a new cap on rent increases as they navigate the impact on landlords and tenants.
- An exploration of the potential benefits and challenges of transforming grocery stores into farmers market-like environments.
In the dynamic global entertainment industry, Seattle's local theaters are expected to witness a surge in ticket sales for 'Lilo & Stitch', given its dominance in the domestic box office. The second-highest earner of the Memorial Day weekend, 'Lilo & Stitch' is a remake of the 2002 animated film and falls under the category of movies and TV productions. Paramount Pictures' 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning', featuringTom Cruise, held the second spot in the box office race, but its earnings paled in comparison.
