logo
‘Lilo & Stitch' remake on its way to having biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever

‘Lilo & Stitch' remake on its way to having biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever

New York Post24-05-2025

It's saying 'Aloha' to A-lot of money.
The 'Lilo & Stitch' live-action remake is on its way to becoming the biggest Memorial Day weekend opening for a movie ever.
The Disney film raked in $55 million on its opener, Friday, alone, according to The Numbers.
Advertisement
It's also the second-highest grossing opening weekend in 2025, after 'A Minecraft Movie,' according to Variety.
The Post, however, was not impressed, and thought Disney 'turned the story into a soulless downer, made its color palette practically sepia and tacked on an extra half hour of dead air.'
3 The 'Lilo & Stitch' live-action remake stars Maia Kealoha as Lilo in her film debut.
©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Advertisement
In second place was 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning' the eighth and final installment of the Tom Cruise-led series, with sales of $24.8 million.
The action spy flick, which also opened on Friday 'is overblown, inanely plotted, clotted with expository dialogue and boundlessly self-congratulatory … but … it's also fun to watch,' NPR said in its review.
Contrary to its title, it does not mark the 62-year-old action king's final film — by any means.
3 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning' star Tom Cruise has no intention of retiring.
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Advertisement
'I actually said I'm going to make movies into my 80s. Actually, I'm going to make them into my 100s,' Cruise said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter at the film's New York premiere.
The movie, which cost $400 million to make, is also one of the most expensive ever made since it was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, two Hollywood strikes and increases in inflation.
3 'Final Destination Bloodlines' is the sixth installment of the franchise.
©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
The supernatural horror thriller 'Final Destination Bloodlines,' which was landed in the No. 1 spot last Friday, upon its release, fell two notches to third with a $5.5 million take.
Advertisement
Tying for fourth with $2.4 million each was 'Sinners,' on its sixth Friday in theaters, and 'Thunderbolts*' on its fourth.
The bull-riding drama 'The Last Rodeo,' which was released on Friday, took the fifth spot with sales of close to $2.1 million.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Box Office: ‘28 Years Later' Scares Up $30 Million Start, ‘Elio' Lands Worst Debut in Pixar History With $21 Million
Box Office: ‘28 Years Later' Scares Up $30 Million Start, ‘Elio' Lands Worst Debut in Pixar History With $21 Million

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Box Office: ‘28 Years Later' Scares Up $30 Million Start, ‘Elio' Lands Worst Debut in Pixar History With $21 Million

A spunky, alien-obsessed preteen and undead army were no match at the box office against a loyal, fiery dragon. Universal's 'How to Train Your Dragon' remake has remained No. 1 in North America despite the presence of two newcomers, Disney and Pixar's intergalactic adventure 'Elio' and Sony's zombie thriller '28 Years Later.' More from Variety How 'Elio' Pays Homage to Classic Sci-Fi Films Like 'The Thing,' 'Close Encounters' and 'Alien' Box Office: '28 Years Later' Chomps on $14 Million Opening Day; 'Elio' Facing Pixar's Lowest Debut Ever as 'How to Train Your Dragon' Rules Again That Terrifying Chant in '28 Years Later': Danny Boyle Explains How a 110-Year-Old Recording Came to Define the Film 'Elio' has cratered in third place with $21 million from 3,750 theaters, ranking as the worst start in modern history for Pixar. Heading into the weekend, the otherworldly tale about a young boy who connects with aliens after getting mistaken for Earth's intergalactic ambassador was aiming for $25 million to $30 million. The film, which cost $150 million to produce, added just $14 million overseas for a catastrophic global total of $35 million. 'This is a weak opening for Pixar,' says David A. Gross, who runs the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm. 'These would be solid numbers for another original animation film, but this is Pixar, and by Pixar's remarkable standard, the opening is well below average.' Pixar's prior low-water mark was 2023's opposites-attract fable 'Elemental,' which opened to $29.6 million domestically and $44.5 million globally. However, that film was embraced by audiences and managed to endure at the box office, ultimately ending its big screen run with $155 million domestically and $496 million globally. It was a respectable tally given the terrible opening weekend result, but nowhere near the prior heights of Pixar, the empire behind 'Toy Story,' 'The Incredibles' and 'Finding Nemo.' The studio is hoping that 'Elio' follows a similar trajectory since the animated tale was awarded an 'A' grade on CinemaScore exit polls and 85% Rotten Tomatoes average. But the bleak start for 'Elio' underscores the challenges that face Pixar, which fielded last year's record-breaking smash 'Inside Out 2' ($1.69 billion) but hasn't successfully launched a new theatrical property in ages. Original animation has struggled at the box office in post-pandemic times, and Pixar in particular has failed to live up to its own stratospheric heights — especially after several of its titles (like 'Turning Red' and 'Luca') were sent directly to Disney+ while cinemas were recovering from COVID, which inadvertently trained family audiences to expect those movies at home. Though kid-friendly fare has rebounded in a big way, brand recognition has been a huge part in the triumph of recent PG winners like 'Lilo & Stitch,' 'A Minecraft Movie' and 'How to Train Your Dragon.' This weekend's other new release, '28 Years Later,' opened in second place with $30 million from 3,444 venues, squarely in line with expectations. The film added an additional $30 million overseas, propelling its initial worldwide tally to $60 million. Those ticket sales mark the biggest debut in the undead series, which began with 2002's '28 Days Later' ($10 million debut) and continued with 2007's '28 Weeks Later' ($9.8 million). Opening weekend crowds bestowed the film a tepid 'B' grade on CinemaScore exit polls. '28 Years Later' cost $60 million and won't require much coinage to become the highest-grossing installment in the franchise, which is presently '28 Days Later' with $75 million worldwide. But Sony has bigger commercial ambitions for the property, which revolves around a contagious rage virus that continues wreak havoc on the world. '28 Years Later' is intended to kick off a new zombie-infested trilogy, spearheaded by '28 Days Later' creators Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland. The new film was shot back-to-back with its sequel, '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,' which will debut in 2026. A third film is in development but its future could be dictated by the theatrical results of '28 Years Later.' Without 'Elio' or '28 Years Later' posing much of a threat, 'How to Train Your Dragon' was able to retain the box office crown with $37 million in its sophomore frame, a 56% decline from its $83 million debut. So far, the live-action remake has generated $160.4 million in North America and $358 million worldwide. Another notable holdover, A24's comedic romantic drama 'Materialists,' stayed strong in its second weekend with $5.8 million, marking a 48% decline from its impressive $12 million start. Celine Song's film, which has launched a million think pieces on modern dating and realistic salaries for New Yorkers, has earned a promising $24 million to date. Above 'Materialists' on box office charts and rounding out the top five, Disney's 'Lilo & Stitch' collected $9.5 million while Paramount's 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' added $6.55 million in their respective fifth weekends of release. 'Lilo & Stitch' has earned 386 million domestically and blockbuster $910 million globally against a $100 million budget. 'The Final Reckoning,' the eighth installment in Tom Cruise's long-running action franchise, has grossed $178 million in North America and $540 million worldwide. However, 'MI8' cost a head-spinning $400 million to produce, and since movie theater owners get to keep half of ticket sales, the action adventure won't have the strength to climb out of the red in its theatrical run. Overall box office comparisons to the same weekend in 2024 are tough because 'Inside Out 2″ began its blockbuster run with $154 million. Prior to this weekend, revenues were 23% above last year but the surplus has shrunk to 18%, according to Comscore. It's up to upcoming films like Brad Pitt's racing drama 'F1,' Universal's 'Jurassic World: Rebirth,' the Warner Bros. and DC epic 'Superman,' and Disney's Marvel adventure 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' to deliver a boost to the summer box office. 'The last three weeks have not exactly blown the doors off at the box office,' says senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. 'Despite these June gloom headwinds, we have many notable summer films all the way through Labor Day weekend.'

Innocent Movie Moments That Terrified Kids
Innocent Movie Moments That Terrified Kids

Buzz Feed

time4 hours ago

  • Buzz Feed

Innocent Movie Moments That Terrified Kids

When we watch movies as kids, sometimes the weirdest things scare scar us for life. On the popular r/AskReddit subreddit, u/GabeyTheArtist asked people to share an absolutely-not-scary movie scene that absolutely terrified you as a child. Some of the answers left me scratching my head (and remembering how messed up some of these movies were): "When the lights dimmed and the movie started, and the MGM lion roared, 4-year-old me screamed and crawled for my life over my father's shoulder and into the lap of the lady in the row behind us." "When Boo started crying in Monsters Inc. and the lights started flickering." "That scene in The Little Mermaid when King Triton discovers Ariel's collection of land junk, loses his sh*t and screams at her." "In Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird when they capture Big Bird, paint him blue, put him in the cage, and make him sing that sad song. Terrified me as a child. Still hate it." "The nuclear bomb scene in The Terminator. Nightmares for weeks. I live in DC. Still live in fear that a bomb will vaporize us some day." "For some strange reason, the heffalumps and woozles in the Winnie the Pooh movie terrified me as a kid. I can't remember anything about that movie or why I was so scared." "Jim Carrey's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, when he goes crazy in the mail room, wrapping up Cindy Lou Who." "In Ice Age: The Meltdown, when the iceberg slowly turns around to reveal the two water dinosaurs. I hid until I knew the next scene was playing, like the monster could see me." "Aladdin, when he steps into the sand lion's mouth. I always had to cover my ears and my eyes." "The Fates in Disney's Hercules passing around (and at one point dropping) their shared eyeball." "The Bumble from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer." "The end of the 'I Love To Laugh' scene in Mary Poppins, where the laughing people start to cry to get back to the ground. I thought crying was a horrible thing to show people doing." "The furnace scene in Home Alone. I was constantly scared of the basement after that, and we didn't even have a furnace down there." "The zombie in Hocus Pocus gave me nightmares for literally years." "I have beef with Janice from The Muppets." "I couldn't watch the Siamese cats song from Lady and the Tramp without losing my sh*t when I was a kid." "In Pinocchio, when that one kid turned into a donkey." "The pink elephants from Dumbo scared the absolute sh*t outta me as a child." "In E.T., when E.T. screams, running through the forest." "When E.T. gets all sick and white, and they put him in the bag. That frightened me for YEARS." "Everything in Mars Attacks! scared the living sh*t out of me as a kid, then I come to find it was a comedy." "I think when they went in the trippy tunnel in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate a kid, it scared the heck out of me." "The scene of Augustus Gloop going up the pipe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." "The witch's feet curling under the house that fell on her in The Wizard of Oz. It still seems scary." "The flying monkey scene in The Wizard of Oz." "The Wheelers from Return to Oz." "'Be sure and tell 'em Large Marge sent ya!''" "The skeksis from The Dark Crystal really did a number on me as a kid. They were terrifying." "The Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!" "When the mutant toys appear in Toy Story." "The waterfall scene in The Brave Little Toaster." "THAT Bilbo scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." "The forest fire when Bambi's mother dies." "The opening scene of The Great Mouse Detective. When the dad gets kidnapped by the bat." And finally, "The CATERPILLAR in Alice in Wonderland. 'Whoooo are you?'"

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store