Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” is proving that “Snow White” was an aberration, as it has earned an estimated $145.5 million 3-day domestic opening and will pass “Top Gun: Maverick” for the biggest Memorial Day weekend launch ever with an estimated $183 million 4-day start and a staggering $353 million worldwide.
Combined with the launch of Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” and strong holdover totals from Warner Bros.’ hit films “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” “Sinners” and “A Minecraft Movie,” overall totals for this holiday weekend are estimated to reach $328 million. That’s a new industry record before inflation adjustment, passing the $314 million record set in 2013.
Like “Moana 2” this past Thanksgiving, “Lilo & Stitch” is bringing out families in droves with the incredible drawing power of Stitch, who since making his big screen debut in 2002 has become one of the most beloved — and marketable — Disney characters ever.
But the nostalgia for the original animated film is making it a four-quadrant hit, with non-family general audiences comprising 56% of the opening weekend audience while millennials age 25-34 — the demographic that saw the original as kids — are the biggest age cohort at 30%.
And while critics remain less enthused by the Disney remakes, they’re a bit more positive on this one with a 69% Rotten Tomatoes score to go with a 93% audience score and a straight A on CinemaScore, putting “Lilo & Stitch” on course to join remakes of “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “The Jungle Book” in the $1 billion club.
In fact, it will take less than one week of global play for “Lilo & Stitch” to become Disney’s highest grossing film of 2025 so far. By Saturday, it already passed the anemic $204.9 million global run of this past spring’s “Snow White,” and on Monday it will very likely pass the global cume of Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*,” which stands at $353 million after four weekends.
In second is “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” with a $63 million 3-day/$77 million 4-day opening weekend on par with pre-release projections. If that holds, that would become the best opening weekend for a “Mission: Impossible” film before inflation adjustment, topping the $61 million 3-day opening of the 2018 installment “Fallout.”
Globally, the film has a total of $190 million and will pass $200 million on Monday with $127 million from 64 markets, including 15 where the film was released last weekend.
As expected for the eighth and final film in a PG-13 action series that spans nearly 30 years, “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” skews older than “Lilo & Stitch” with 54% of the audience over the age of 35. Paramount reports that Canada, particularly Toronto, overindexed this weekend with 12.4% of the film’s U.S./Canada market share, a reflection of Tom Cruise’s international appeal.
Paramount is banking on “Mission: Impossible 8” becoming the action film of choice in the weeks ahead against competition like “Karate Kid: Legends” and “Ballerina” and legging out for weeks. It’s got the early reception to do that, earning a 5/5 on PostTrak and an A- on CinemaScore, the latter being on par with “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” in 2015.
Warner/New Line’s “Final Destination: Bloodlines” is holding well against tough competition, taking third with a $24.5 million 4-day total that brings its total to $94.6 million domestic and $187 million worldwide after two weekends. That’s enough to make it the highest grossing “Final Destination” film ever before inflation adjustment and should have enough momentum to hold that honor after inflation adjustment with a $300 million-plus final total.
“Thunderbolts*” and “Sinners” complete the top 5, with “Thunderbolts*” currently having the edge with $11.6 million over four days compared to $11.2 million for “Sinners” over four days. “Sinners” has now crossed $300 million worldwide and is just $16 million away from becoming the first original live action film since “Gravity” in 2013 to gross $275 million domestic.
In sixth is Angel Studios’ “The Last Rodeo,” a Jon Avnet drama starring Neal McDonough as a retired bull rider who risks his life to win money for a life-saving operation for his grandson. The film is currently estimated for a $5.3 million 3-day/$6.8 million 4-day opening with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 72% critics and 97% audience.