“Lilo & Stitch” headlines a record Memorial Day box office

Tom Cruise may be able to battle an all-knowing, all-powerful AI—but he can’t seem to out-maneuver a little blue alien and his ‘ohana.

With ~$183 million in box-office receipts across the US and Canada this past four-day weekend, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch outpaced Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’s ~$77.5 million to lead a record-setting Memorial Day box office.

• This figure brought in by the live-action remake originally intended to go straight to streaming beats out the previous four-day Memorial Day weekend record of ~$160 million, set by the Cruise-led Top Gun: Maverick in 2022.
• It also continues a string of solid sales for the Lilo & Stitch IP, which moved $2.5+ billion worth of consumer products for Disney last year.

Overall, box office sales in the US and Canada totaled a record $326.7 million over the four-day weekend, a 221% jump from last year when Furiosa and Garfield were gracing theater marquees.

Is the box office back? Receipts for Jan. 1-May 26 stand at $3.3 billion, up 22% over the same period a year ago—though this also coincides with a 25% increase in the number of movies given a wide release.

Looking ahead…Comscore estimates the summer box office will generate ~$4.2 billion, 14% higher than last year but still below 2019’s ~$4.3 billion haul.