鈥淟ilo & Stitch鈥� teamed with Tom Cruise for a monster Memorial Day box office weekend.
Disney's live action version of earned a staggering $145.5 million in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, the second biggest domestic opening of the year after
The movie is a faithful remake of the 2002 original's story of a six-legged alien and a Hawaiian girl that has created a big cult following in the decades since. But the duo was no little brother and sister to the better-known figures in Disney's parade of live-action remakes. It was second only to the $185 million and outshot all projections, wowing box office observers.
鈥淭his overperformed by a huge margin,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.
鈥淟ilo & Stitch鈥� surpassed Cruise's 2022 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥� as the biggest domestic Memorial Day weekend earner ever, and global estimates put it past $300 million.
Paramount Pictures' 鈥淢ission: Impossible 鈥� The Final Reckoning,鈥� the eighth and (probably) last appearance of Cruise as Ethan Hunt in a nearly three-decade run, was a distant second, but still brought in a franchise record $63 million through Sunday, outearning 鈥淢ission: Impossible - Fallout,鈥� which opened domestically to $61 million in 2018.
And the spy thriller with Cruise's frequent partner Christopher McQuarrie in the director's chair for the fourth time in the franchise was the top global earner with $127 million.
Cruise has been a relentless global promoter of his movies, and he鈥檚 been the industry鈥檚 loudest cheerleader for going to theaters. This film, like its predecessor in the series, premiered at the
鈥淭he spectacle of what Tom and McQ put on the screen, it screams theatrical,鈥� said Chris Aronson, Paramount's president of domestic distribution. 鈥淭he product they put out just screams, 鈥楾his has to be in theaters.鈥欌��
The previous film, 2023鈥檚 launched with a franchise-best $80 million over five days in a July opening, though it came in shy of industry expectations with a $56.2 million haul over a three-day weekend.
This weekend as a whole blasted past last year, when the Memorial Day box office saw just $132 million for all films in the Friday-through-Monday span. And it appears that it will top 2013 as the best Memorial Day the industry has had, with an estimated overall total of $325 million.
Critics were wearying of Disney's live action and CGI remakes of its animated classics. Mark Kennedy of The Associated Press called this 鈥淟ilo & Stitch鈥� 鈥渦tterly unnecessary.鈥� There were signs audiences were agreeing. in March, and several similar releases were tepid.
But this film tapped into a latent love for oddball pairing.
It also furthered a trend that includes 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie鈥� of PG-rated films outpacing the PG-13 movies that usually dominate, made all the more impressive by the lower kids' ticket prices the more family-oriented films bring.
Dergarabedian credits a strong lead-up of films that have put people in theaters and remain the box office top 10, including 鈥淢inecraft,鈥� and
鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of a better lineup of films to ignite leading up to Memorial weekend to ignite the spark that got us this record-breaking holiday frame,鈥� he said.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. 鈥淟ilo & Stitch,鈥� $145.5 million.
2. 鈥淢ission: Impossible 鈥� The Final Reckoning,鈥� $63 million.
3. 鈥淔inal Destination: Bloodlines,鈥� $19.7 million.
4. 鈥淭hunderbolts,鈥� $9.2 million.
5. 鈥淪inners,鈥� $8.8 million.
6. 鈥淭he Last Rodeo,鈥� $5.3 million.
7. 鈥淔riendship,鈥� $4.6 million.
8. 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie,鈥� $2.2 million.
9. 鈥淭he Accountant 2,鈥� $2 million.
10. 鈥淗urry Up Tomorrow,鈥� $740,000.
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This story was first published on May 25, 2025. It was updated on May 26, 2025, to correct the title of the 鈥淟ilo & Stitch鈥� movie throughout.
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
