Lilo & Stitch make big money on Memorial Day
The two biggest Hollywood films this Memorial Day weekend are Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and Lilo & Stitch. Both movies have been smashing it in the theaters. It’s also the second best holiday weekend start in America, behind Black Panther which earned $242 million on Presidents Day 2018. Lilo is one of the biggest debuts for Disney’s live-action remakes, just behind 2019’s The Lion King and 2017’s Beauty & the Beast, which respectively grossed $191 million and $174 million, but it’s likely to earn $183 million by the end of the four-day weekend.
Meanwhile, Final Reckoning opened to $190 million worldwide. Final Reckoning opened to $190 million worldwide. It was released in Australia, South Korea and other territories a week earlier. The domestic gross of $63 million could reach $77 million by the weekend, setting a new record in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Both films received a positive response from critics and audiences, aided by the growing momentum before their release. Nostalgia drives both movies: Lilo is based on Disney’s 23-year-old classic, and Reckoning may be the last film in the series, or just the last to star Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt.
Regardless, audiences are going out in droves to see movies this weekend, including holdovers like Final Destination Bloodlines, Sinners, and Thunderbolts. Variety reported that it has been more than a decade since Memorial Day was so popular. This is a significant improvement over 2024, when Furiosa and Garfield had a weaker showing. Want more io9 News? Want more io9 news?
