‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘MI8’ Fuel Historic Memorial Day Weekend
Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” remake and Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” combined for more than $360 million globally, leading to the most successful Memorial Day weekend ever recorded at the box office.
Memorial Day weekend 2025 now ranks as the highest-grossing in box office history, thanks to powerhouse openings from Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” and Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” Together, the two films delivered more than $260 million domestically through Monday, giving theaters a major summer kickoff.
Leading the weekend, “Lilo & Stitch” earned $183 million over the four-day period, including $145.5 million across the standard three-day weekend – setting a new Memorial Day opening record and the second-largest debut for any four-day holiday frame. Globally, the film brought in $341.7 million, with $158.7 million coming from international markets.
The live-action remake, directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, reintroduces audiences to Stitch, a chaotic alien creature who crash-lands in Hawaii and is taken in by a spirited young girl, Lilo, and her older sister, Nani. The family-friendly adventure, rated PG and running 108 minutes, remains true to the heart of the 2002 animated classic while updating the story for today’s audiences. Entertainment Weekly called it “a winsome, feel-good flick about what it is to find one’s family – and to, in turn, be found.” Slant Magazine praised its emotional range, writing, “Here, ‘ohana’ doesn’t just mean family but community, and the film does moving and spirited work in showcasing how crucial it is for us to lift each other up.”
With an “A” grade CinemaScore and a 93 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has already secured its place among the top openings for Disney’s live-action adaptations. Paste Magazine highlighted the film’s relevance, noting it “brings the movie into 2025 with some smart changes and thoughtful additions,” while The Daily Beast described it as “jovial, zany and sweet.”
“Two major studios put out two very different films for very different audiences, and they yet again proved moviegoing is still an important piece of the fabric of pop culture.” Shawn Robbins, Fandango
Paramount and Skydance’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” followed with a franchise-best domestic debut of $77 million across the four-day weekend and a global opening of $190 million. The eighth – and reportedly final – chapter in the long-running series sees Tom Cruise return as IMF agent Ethan Hunt, racing against time to stop a rogue artificial intelligence known as the Entity.
At nearly three hours and rated PG-13, the film delivers the high-stakes action the franchise is known for. The Telegraph described the film as “an awe-inspiringly bananas piece of work,” while the New York Post noted it as “another high-voltage, gargantuanly envisioned test of Cruise’s bodily limits. Only this franchise can make wincing fun.” Collider called it “a deserved celebration for everything this series has accomplished, and one final (seemingly) showcase for Cruise as one of the greatest action stars of all time.”
Both films are playing in theaters now and will be available for licensing from Swank soon.