Sometimes you hear the hyperbole from box office pundits that this is the biggest weekend in seemingly ever, and the numbers don’t necessarily mean much. Factor in inflation and anything will look a little less impressive. And everyone is trying to spin anyway. But with the combined totals of “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” this really was the Best Memorial Day weekend at the box office ever, and that’s really saying something for the overall health of the box office.
It was strong enough that each of the three major theater chains in North America, AMC, Regal, and Cinemark, all put out glowing statements of record-breaking attendance and concession sales. Cinema United president and CEO Michael O’Leary also sang the industry’s collective praises, saying, “It’s clear that movie theaters are cultural and economic hubs in cities and towns of all sizes, uniting communities across the country.” AMC said 7 million people came into AMC Theatres and ODEON Cinemas internationally over the 5-day period between last Thursday and Monday, and it’s the third-most revenue the chain generated in five days in over a decade. Regal said it served 103 million ounces of popcorn. Stock prices saw a much-needed boost as a result.
Related Stories
It didn’t happen overnight either. Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore, said it’s a product of a string of movies in April, starting with “A Minecraft Movie” and continuing through “Sinners,” “Thunderbolts*,” “The Accountant 2,” and “Final Destination: Bloodlines” that “provided huge box office tailwinds to both newcomers” this weekend. People are getting back in the habit of going to the theater.
Because it wasn’t just one number or record that was broken. The franchises did record numbers, and it translated across the board.
The Biggest Memorial Day Weekend Ever
The numbers don’t lie. This Memorial Day weekend brought in an estimated $326.7 million domestic over the 4-day period. It was the most for any Friday, Saturday, and Sunday period at $262 million, and it was the biggest Monday holiday ever at $64.7 million.
The next closest was in 2013, when the overall haul was $314.3 million and a $59.6 million Monday, and yes, if you factor in inflation, it would significantly beat 2025. But the box office never before cracked $300 million over the 4-day weekend. Post-Covid, the last biggest Memorial Day was in 2022 when Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun Maverick” arguably saved Hollywood with $160.5 million across four days. “Lilo & Stitch” beat that handily, and “Final Reckoning” added another $77.5 million on top of that. “Final Reckoning” would’ve been the #1 movie in several other Memorial Day weekends though, including last year when the #1 film was “Furiosa” with $32.3 million.
Together, “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible” were just shy of 80 percent of the overall box office haul for the weekend, but Warner Bros. also had three movies in the Top 10, Angel Studios’ “The Last Rodeo” opened to a solid $6.2 million, and A24’s “Friendship” went wider in its third weekend and made $5.7 million. In 2022, “Top Gun: Maverick” alone was 71.5 percent of the total box office for the weekend, so audiences really spread the wealth this year.
All this matters because the box office year-to-date is now at $3.134B through Sunday, which is now up 22.3 percent vs. 2024. Comscore estimates that this summer will bring in about $4.2 billion+, which would be around 14-15 percent higher than last summer. But it would also be approaching what the box office did in 2019, and there was a time when many believed the days of reaching those pre-Covid numbers again were over. Back in 2019, there were 42 different movies that opened wide in over 2000 theaters. Comscore says over 40 movies this summer are expected to open that wide, so there’s potential for a few more surprises like this weekend.
The Biggest “Mission: Impossible” Opening Ever
If you’ll recall, the prospects for the eighth “Mission: Impossible” movie were not exactly rosy. 2023’s “Dead Reckoning – Part 1” opened to $54.6 million and fell short of the $61.2 million from the prior entry, the stellar “Fallout” from 2018. “Dead Reckoning – Part 1” lost its IMAX screens to “Oppenheimer” that year, and the under-performance led to Paramount and Skydance changing the title of the new film from “Dead Reckoning – Part 2” to “Final Reckoning.” Even though reviews were weaker for this one, The rebranding away from being a Part 2 that requires homework and towards an unspoken finale seems to have worked in the new film’s favor.
Through four days, “Final Reckoning” has made an estimated $204.5 million worldwide, which represents the largest international opening and the largest domestic opening ($64M 3-Day, $77.5M 4-Day) for a “Mission: Impossible” film. It’s also the best IMAX opening for any “Mission” film with $15.3 million over the 4-day, or 20 percent of the domestic total. For Memorial Day openings, it’s second only to Cruise’s “Top Gun Maverick” in IMAX.
So far, the percentage of the film’s international haul is smaller than the ratio of “Dead Reckoning” or “Fallout,” which remains the most successful entry in the franchise at $791.1 million worldwide. That suggests if “Final Reckoning” can do similar multiples to “Fallout,” it may have a chance to beat that total, something it will need considering the astronomical reported budget figures out there after delays from both Covid and the actors strike.
One of the Biggest Disney Live-Action Openings Ever
Just because “Lilo & Stitch” killed it does not mean Disney should keep doing live-action remakes forever (who are we kidding?). But while it’s not the biggest opening for a Disney live-action remake ever, it’s certainly up there. The family film’s $145.5 million 3-day would put it behind only “The Lion King” from 2019 ($191.7 million) and “Beauty and the Beast” from 2017 ($174.7 million). Through four days, the film has made $361.3 million globally, and considering “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast” each crossed well over $1 billion globally, it gives you an idea of how high “Lilo & Stitch” could climb.
Because there was a good case to be made that audiences were really waning on Disney’s live-action remakes. “Snow White,” which opened in March and thus far has made only $86.9 million domestic, which is just ahead of 2021’s Covid-addled “Cruella” and behind films like “Dumbo,” “Christopher Robin,” and “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.” Remember those? Yeah, us neither. “Snow White” though (and “The Little Mermaid” before it) became a lightning rod for culture wars, while “Lilo & Stitch” is just a lot of family Ohana fun.
Bonus: Disney says the $37 million the movie made on Monday domestically is one of the best Mondays ever. It outperformed “Avengers: Endgame” in its first Monday and “Top Gun Maverick,” and it’s just behind “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” and “Black Panther,” which holds the record for a Monday with $40.2 million.
And while it has a ways to go to catch “Minecraft,” “Lilo & Stitch” now has the second-largest opening weekend of 2025 and is already in the Top 5 earners domestic on the year. We’ll see if some middling reviews and the arrival of “How to Train Your Dragon” next month put a damper on its overall haul, but Hollywood should take note about the success of PG films like this and “Minecraft.”
