411 Box Office Report: Lilo & Stitch Sets Memorial Day Record, Mission: Impossible Lands At #2

It was a banger of a weekend at the box office as Lilo & Stitch set a Memorial Day record and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning started with a franchise high. Lilo & Stitch opened to a fantastic $145.5 million over three days and a stunning $183 through Monday. Those numbers rep the best start for a film on Memorial Day, beating out 2022’s Top Gun Maverick ($126.7 million over three days, $160.5 over four).

The number may draw a groan from those hoping to see the live-action Disney remakes die off, but for the studio it’s a mighty cheer. It’s the best three-day start for a Disney live-action remake since The Lion King (which technically counts as a live-action remake) launched to $191.8 million and the third best for those films, behind only Lion King and Beauty and the Best ($174.8 million in March 2017). It’s grossed more in its opening weekend than Snow White, Cruella, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Dumbo did in their entire domestic runs – and very nearly grossed more than the opening weekends of those four films combined.

Disney knew they had a hit on their hands with this one early, and that only became more and more obvious as we got closer to release date. Critical buzz is only middlingly good with a 69% aggregated score on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences are through the roof on it with a 94% RT audience score and an A CinemaScore. Awareness on the film was high, thanks to savvy marketing, and what looked like a $165 million to $175 million four-day take rose throughout the weekend.

Things aren’t just coming up Experiment 626 in the US either; it’s scoring overseas where it has $158.7 million for a $304.2 million worldwide start. That’s three times the $100 million budget and this one is surely into profit already. It’s a huge win for Disney and with a dearth of family competition until How to Train Your Dragon arrives on June 13th, this has plenty of time to stretch its legs. $400 million is a sure thing, $450 million is likely and if it holds better than expected, $500 million isn’t out of the question.

Meanwhile, Tom Cruise had cause to smile as The Final Reckoning launched to $63 million over three days and $77 million over four. That’s the largest opening weekend for a Mission: Impossible film, topping the $61.2 million start of Mission: Impossible — Fallout from 2018. It’s well above the $54.7 million that Dead Reckoning opened to in July of 2023.

This would normally be news that makes a studio breathe a sigh of relief, but The Final Reckoning is not out of the woods yet. It cost between $300 million and $400 million to produce, one of the last vestiges of the skyrocketed costs that were incurred as a result of production delays caused by the strikes. That means this one is going to need good legs to make it into the black.

Fortunately, it has solid buzz and very good word of mouth; the RT critic aggregate is at 74% while the RT audience rating is a 90% and CinemaScore has it at an A-. Those should help it deal with a host of action competition. It added a solid $127 million overseas for a $204 million total through Monday. It should be able to make it to $210 million domestically, but those overseas numbers will need to hold on to hit stellar levels for this to make money in theaters.

Final Destination: Bloodlines took an expected hit as it dropped 63% from its great opening to bring in $19.7 million through Sunday and $24.5 million through Monday. The top performers took all the attention, and most people expected that would be the case. It’s the highest second weekend drop in the franchise’s history, but this movie is already profitable at $94.6 million stateside and $187.1 million worldwide against a $50 million budget. It’s already the highest domestic-grossing film in the series and is only $5 million off from The Final Destination’sworldwide total. Bloodlines looks as if it will probably finish around $130 million, very profitable for Warner Bros.

Thunderbolts* was down a fairly decent 45% in its fourth weekend to $9.2 million in three days and $11.6 million through four. The teamup film is gaining ground on Captain America: Brave New World’s numbers with $173.8 million stateside and $355.5 million worldwide against a $180 million budget. It should be able to cross $210 million in the US and will make a little bit of profit thanks to the worldwide numbers.

Sinners brought in $8.8 million through Sunday and $11.2 million through Monday, down 42% in in the three-day total from last weekend. Ryan Coogler’s vampire film has $259 million domestically and $339 million worldwide. $300 million stateside may be out of reach but this is a megahit regardless.

Angel Studios’ The Last Rodeo was somewhat middling as it took in $5.3 million in three days and $6.3 million over four. The drama was right about in the ring of December’s Homestead. Critic reviews have been solid at a 73% and audience sentiment is good as always – Angel knows who their target demo is. This one should end up around $18 million to $20 which is right where the studio needs it to be.

A24 platformed Friendship up into wide release and it paid off, as the film was up 228% with $4.6 million on the three-day total and $5.7 over four. The Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd comedy is benefitting from its great reviews and word of mouth to the tune of $8.4 million., scored positive reviews at an 89% aggregated RT critic score and an 84% RT audience rating. There’s still no word on the budget but A24 is happy with the results and it should be a success through the studio’s model, which factors in heavily on home viewing where their films tend to make a fair amount of money.

A Minecraft Movie fell to earth at last as Lilo & Stitch stole its audience. The video game adaptation fell 63% to $2.2 million through Sunday and $2.9 million through Monday. No worries though as Warner Bros. has made absolute bank at $421.5 million in the US and $940.6 million worldwide against a $150 million production budget. $430 million is still the endgame.

The Accountant 2 slipped 59% in its fifth weekend, falling to Ethan Hunt the same way Minecraft fell to Stitch. The action thriller grossed $2.2 million in three days and a projected $2.9 million over four. It’s now grossed $63.4 million domestically and $98.4 million worldwide with a final total probably close to $70 million in the US. The production budget was $80 million.

Hurry Up Tomorrow dropped like a rock its second weekend with $770,000 through Monday – down 78% from its already-bad opening weekend – and $931,000 through four days. The Weeknd-starring psychological thriller is fine for Lionsgate, who had no skin in the game regarding the budget, at $5 million domestically and $5.5 million worldwide. It’s basically just a $15 million-budgeted promotion for Weeknd’s new album and tour, and it seems to have worked for that.

To zero surprise, Lilo & Stich will top the box office again next weekend with Final Reckoning likely to stick at #2. The most high-profile release is Sony’s Karate Kid: Legends, taking aim at $20 million-plus, while A24’s Bring Her Back looks for $8 million to $10 million.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Lilo & Sitch $145.5 million ($183 million total, $341.7 million WW)
2. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – $63 million ($77 million total, $204 million WW)
3. Final Destination: Bloodlines – $19.7 million ($94.6 million total, $187.1 million WW)
4. Thunderbolts* – $9.2 million ($173.8 million total, $355.5 million WW)
5. Sinners – $8.8 million ($259 million total, $339 million WW)
6. The Last Rodeo – $5.3 million ($6.3 million total, $6.3 million WW)
7. Friendship – $4.6 million ($8.3 million total, $8.3 million WW)
8. A Minecraft Movie – $2.2 million ($421.5 million total, $940.6 million WW)
9. The Accountant 2 – $2 million ($63.4 million total, $98.4 million WW)
10. Hurry Up Tomorrow – $740,000 ($5 million total, $5.5 million WW)