Get ready for a massive Memorial Day weekend at the movies. With Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch and Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hitting theaters, early tracking suggests the two films combined could deliver a $200M+ four-day debut—potentially making it one of the biggest Memorial Day box office hauls ever.
Disney’s latest animated-to-live-action gamble is paying off, at least in the buzz department. Lilo & Stitch is projected to lead the weekend with an estimated $120 million over four days, driven by strong interest from women under 25 and Hispanic and Latina audiences.
The film currently boasts higher unaided awareness than even Minecraft: The Movie, which notched a $162.7M three-day haul. Tickets for Lilo & Stitch go on sale tomorrow, strategically synced with the launch of Marvel’s Thunderbolts—and Disney’s clearly aiming to ride the wave of fan attention.
Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is on track for a $80 million holiday launch, bolstered by stronger audience awareness, interest, and first choice scores than Dead Reckoning. That’s notable, considering Dead Reckoning managed $76 million across its five-day debut.
These movies tend to have long legs too. Mission: Impossible films often pull a 3.5x multiple on their opening numbers. Add in three full weeks of IMAX screens and the yet-to-begin global marketing push (Tom Cruise stunts and Cannes appearances are still to come), and this installment could be another high-octane box office force.
Of course, the record to beat for biggest Memorial Day weekend still belongs to 2013, when Fast & Furious 6 and The Hangover Part III helped the overall box office hit $314 million. More recently, Cruise’s own Top Gun: Maverick pulled a stunning $160 million opening, anchoring a 2022 holiday frame that totaled $223.3M across all titles.
Can Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible together crack that? It’s possible. A family-friendly nostalgia play paired with an adrenaline-fueled franchise finale? That’s a strong movie combo. The stars are aligning for what could be one of the most lucrative Memorial Day weekends in movie history.
What are you planning to see? Are you team Stitch or team Ethan Hunt? I’ll be seeing both.
Via: Deadline
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