Lilo & Stitch Starts Strong at the Box Office
Lilo & Stitch technically debuts in theaters today, May 23rd.
Disney knew that many loyal Stitch fans didn’t want to wait that long, though. So, the company offered sneak previews on Thursday.
Disney
To the surprise of absolutely no one, plenty of folks like me rushed to the theater at the earliest opportunity to watch the newest Disney family film.
Disney tracked sold out theaters across the country, and the studio is pretty confident that records are about to be shattered.
Photo: Disney
Yes, Lilo & Stitch has started strong at the box office. Let’s discuss Thursday’s result and what to expect over the next 72 hours.
Lilo & Stitch on Thursday
Photo: Disney
A few years ago, Hollywood got wise about how to maximize opening weekend box office. The key is to pretend that Thursday is part of the weekend.
So, studios often start showing “Friday” releases at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening, and Disney even had a sense of humor about this one.
Photo: Disney
My Lilo & Stitch screening began at 6:26 p.m. Since my wife uses 626 in her main email address, this information delighted her.
We also noticed a sold-out theater when we arrived, and we obviously weren’t the only ones.
Photo: Disney
According to Thursday box office estimates, the live-action remake earned a whopping $14.5 million, which is Disney’s best Memorial Day result ever.
The previous record holder was the box office disappointment, Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Photo: Disney
While that film didn’t perform as well as most Star Wars titles, it still opened to an impressive $103 million in four days.
About Memorial Day Releases
Photo: Disney
That brings me to an important point. Since Monday is an official government holiday, this “weekend’s” box office will track four days, not three.
That news greatly assists Lilo & Stitch, whose opening weekend will be reported as a four-day total.
Photo: Disney
Due to the film’s early track, ticket presales, and Thursday results, estimates suggest an absolutely jaw-dropping weekend total for the Disney movie.
Currently, estimates suggest a four-day total in the range of $170-$180 million, which could be as much as 75 percent more than Solo managed.
Photo: Little Words Project
I’ll add that 2024’s Memorial Day Weekend was the most moribund in nearly 30 years, with all films in release earning a combined $128.3 million.
Lilo & Stitch will absolutely crush that total on its own! So, you can understand why Disney is so happy right now.
Disney Store
Also, Stitch fans know the real money is in merchandising. As a brand, Stitch sold $2.6 billion of products in 2024.
That number should increase significantly in 2025 thanks to the new wave of attention.
Photo: IMDb
So, this is shaping up to be a really good holiday for Disney. Keep checking MickeyBlog as new Lilo & Stitch box office data arrives.
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