Box Office: Lilo and Stitch breaks multiple records as it hits USD 400M plus globally within week of release

In a turn few could have predicted a couple of days ago, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch has won the global box office with extraordinary momentum, crossing the USD 400 million mark in less than a week. Domestically, the film has raked in USD 197 million by its sixth day, outpacing the lifetime runs of some Disney reimaginings, including the recently released Snow White.

The modernized tale of a Hawaiian girl and her alien dog debuted to a staggering USD 182.6 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend in North America, with USD 146 million of that coming from the standard three-day weekend frame. Internationally, the film added another USD 178.6 million, launching globally with USD 361.2 million against a production budget of just USD 100 million.

Here are a few records it rewrote while putting up the aforementioned performance:

Holiday Hit: Largest Memorial Day Opening in History

Lilo & Stitch now holds the title for the biggest Memorial Day weekend debut ever in North America, toppling Top Gun: Maverick’s previous record of USD 160.5 million. The film outperformed past holiday giants like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (USD 139.8M), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (USD 127M), and X-Men: The Last Stand (USD 122.9M), making it the new benchmark for Memorial Day success.

Aiding the Biggest Summer Movie Surge

Thanks to the combined strength of Lilo & Stitch and the final Mission: Impossible endeavor, this year’s Memorial Day weekend delivered the biggest overall haul in summer box office history. Moviegoers pushed total domestic ticket sales to nearly USD 330 million across all titles, edging out the previous USD 306 million high set in 2013 when Fast & Furious 6 and The Hangover Part II led the charge.

Second Largest Four-Day Opening for Any U.S. Holiday

Among all extended U.S. holiday weekends, Lilo & Stitch now ranks second only to Black Panther, which earned USD 242 million during Presidents’ Day weekend in 2018. Its explosive debut surpassed other long weekend records, leaving behind Labor Day’s Shang-Chi (USD 94.7M) and Martin Luther King Jr. weekend’s Bad Boys for Life (USD 73M).

A Top Contender Among Disney’s Live-Action Boots

The film now holds the third-highest domestic opening among Disney’s live-action adaptations. Only The Lion King (USD 192M) and Beauty and the Beast (USD 175M) opened stronger. Lilo & Stitch also became one of just five Disney reboots to start above the USD 100 million mark, joining Alice in Wonderland (USD 116.1M) and The Jungle Book (USD 103.3M). Globally, it has already outpaced underperformers like 2025’s Snow White, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and Dumbo.

Dominating Latin America’s Theatrical Space

Lilo & Stitch set a new benchmark for Mouse House remakes across Latin America. It launched with USD 27 million in Mexico, its biggest market in the region, followed by Brazil with USD 12.2 million. The UK led in Europe with USD 17 million. Altogether, its USD 178.6 million international opening ranks among Disney’s top four for live-action titles.

Monday Magic: One of the Biggest Single-Day Takes Ever

On Memorial Day alone, the film pulled in USD 36.6 million domestically, landing itself among the five highest-grossing Mondays in box office history. It follows heavyweights like Black Panther, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Avengers: Endgame, throwing Top Gun: Maverick out of the top five. The movies had made USD 40.2M, USD 40.1M, USD 37.1M, USD 36.9M, and USD 33.8M, respectively.

Among Top PG-Rated Openings of All Time

Lilo & Stitch has secured a place on the list of the highest-grossing PG-rated openings ever. It joins blockbusters like The Lion King, Incredibles 2, and Beauty and the Beast. Its USD 146 million three-day debut places it just behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie and ahead of recent hits like Moana 2, Finding Dory, and Frozen II.

Reasons Why Lilo & Stitch Appealed to Viewers:

Part of what fueled Lilo & Stitch’s box office momentum was the fact that it invited audiences from every demographic to cinemas. While typically considered a family film, the majority of its opening weekend audience (an impressive 57 percent) was made up of non-family groups. This speaks volumes about the film’s nostalgic pull for Gen Z and young millennials, who grew up loving the original and showed up in large numbers to support the remake and relive their childhood.

With incredible staying power and a warm reception from both critics and audiences, Lilo & Stitch is shaping up to be more than just a box office sensation. It may be on the path to becoming Disney’s next billion-dollar success story. 

Disney, notably, desperately needs a boost after suffering massive losses from the aforementioned Snow White live-action remake starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot. It also needs this win because neither Captain America performed favorably before the said film, nor did Thunderbolts, currently playing in theaters underwhelmingly.

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