It was a record-setting weekend for The Walt Disney Company and its lovable and rambunctious little blue alien, Stitch.
Lilo & Stitch, the live-action reimagining of the 2002 animated classic, opened as the No. 1 film around the world and has earned an outstanding $361.3 million worldwide to date, which includes a $182.7 million in North America. The film’s debut not only smashed industry expectations, but it also set the record as the largest 4-day Memorial Day weekend opening of all time domestically.
On Memorial Day, Lilo & Stitch took in $37 million, making it the fourth highest-grossing domestic Monday in industry history.
“The love that people have for Lilo & Stitch continues to grow, and the goal with this new retelling was for audiences to be able to enjoy these characters on the big screen again and hopefully have just as much fun watching it as we had making it,” Alan Bergman, co-chairman, Disney Entertainment, said. “We are tremendously proud of this history-making launch, and I want to give my thanks to our teams who have done such great work as well as to the fans who have made this exceptional opening possible.”
With the record opening of Lilo & Stitch this weekend, The Walt Disney Studios has crossed $2 billion at the global box office, becoming the first studios in 2025 to achieve this milestone.
The film — which was directed by Dean Fleischer Camp and stars Maia Kealoha as Lilo and Sydney Elizebeth Agudong as Nani — was the third highest Disney Live Action global opening of all time behind blockbusters The Lion King in 2019 and Beauty and the Beast in 2017. Overall, Disney now owns eight of the top ten PG openings ever.
Lilo & Stitch also notched an exceptional response from audience. The film holds a 93% “Verified Audience” score on Rotten Tomatoes and garnered an “A” CinemaScore.
The film’s historic weekend is another example of the power of Stitch — one of Disney’s most beloved characters and biggest brands.
“Stitch is an example of what Disney actually does best,” David Greenbaum, President of Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios, said last week. “An extraordinary animated film from 2002 that becomes a series that then over time creates a real fanship, which leads to us looking at the idea of creating this wonderful film that we now are bringing out to the world.”
Producer Jonathan Eirich added that the film is a “perfect kickoff to summer.”
“This movie is such an emotional roller coaster. It’s fun, it’s chaotic, and it has so much heart,” he said. “We talk a lot about the experience of laughing and crying with other people in a cinema — there’s nothing like it.”