Lilo & Stitch May Have Already Broken a Disney Record at the Box Office

As expected, the live-action Lilo & Stitch remake came storming out of the gates at the box office, and it might have broken one of Disney’s records. According to Deadline, Lilo & Stitch is estimated to have earned around $14 million domestically during preview screenings that happened on Thursday, May 22nd. Depending on what the actual figures are, Lilo & Stitch could set a new Disney high for preview screenings over Memorial Day weekend. Back in 2018, Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story earned $14.1 million from its preview screenings en route to a $103 million four-day debut. Lilo & Stitch is projected to earn around $150 million over the holiday frame.

Lilo & Stitch should easily win the weekend, securing the No. 1 position over Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. However, the Tom Cruise vehicle broke a record of its own, posting $8 million domestically after Thursday preview screenings.

In the weeks leading up to Memorial Day, it was always expected Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible would headline a record-breaking holiday weekend at the box office. This dynamic one-two punch continues the box office’s resurgence after a tough start to 2025. Several recent releases, including A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, and last weekend’s Final Destination Bloodlines, exceeded projections to become massive hits.

[RELATED – Lilo & Stitch Director Shares the Secret To Bringing Animated Characters Into Live Action]

Disney in particular was in desperate need for a record-breaking blockbuster. Prior to Lilo & Stitch, the studio was having a rough year. Both Captain America: Brave New World and Snow White became box office disappointments after receiving mixed reviews. Even the well-received Thunderbolts* posted soft numbers by Marvel standards. Riding waves of nostalgia for the 2002 animated original and enjoying the best reviews a Disney remake has earned in a while, Lilo & Stitch was in a great spot to reverse Disney’s fortunes.

After Snow White bombed, Disney paused development on the live-action Tangled remake. The performance of Snow White raised questions about how viable Disney’s remake strategy was moving forward. Lilo & Stitch proves there’s still money to be made from this well, the studio just needs to be more selective about which titles get the live-action treatment. Though the animated Snow White is a significant milestone in film history, it doesn’t have the widespread appeal it had decades ago. As a more modern title, Lilo & Stitch is far more popular with today’s audiences, making its live-action remake an easier sell. This bodes well for Disney’s Moana remake releasing next year.

Getting off to a record-breaking start, Lilo & Stitch should become one of the biggest hits of the year. It will be the main family film on the market until the live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake arrives in mid-June, giving it a nice runway of a few weeks to dominate the box office. It’ll be interesting to see if it can overtake A Minecraft Movie to become the #1 movie of the year so far. As of this writing, Minecraft is sitting at $418.3 million domestically and $931.1 million worldwide. In the coming weeks, Lilo & Stitch will deal with the arrival of some high-profile summer titles, but it should have a very fruitful run.