“Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”
So teaches Lilo & Stitch. It’s evident, however, that the movie doesn’t consider any other films to be family members, since it had no qualms leaving them all behind as it scurried its way to the top of the Memorial Day weekend box office.
The movie secured a healthy first-place opening by bringing in $145.5 million. For context, that’s the highest Memorial Day weekend earnings ever. It also makes it the third-highest opening for any Disney live-action reimagining, just behind The Lion King ($191.7 million) and Beauty and the Beast ($174.7 million). Internationally, the little blue agent of chaos stole an additional $158.7 million, bringing its total earnings to $341.7 million—hopefully enough to pay for all the destruction Stitch causes.
If there were any impossible mission, it’d be outshining Lilo & Stitch in its opening weekend. But Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning sure gave it the old college try. The eighth film in the series spied out a second-place spot through $63 million domestically and $127 million internationally.
And Tom Cruise’s movie wasn’t the only “final” film to perform this week: Final Destination Bloodlines earned the box office bronze by taking in $19.4 million. Finishing up its second week, that brings its worldwide cume to $186.7 million.
Meanwhile, Marvel’s Thunderbolts* stumbled out of the spotlight and into the void this week. Now at the end of its first month since release, it slipped from second place to fourth, earning just $9.1 million. Worldwide, the reluctant superheroes have brought in $355.7 million.
And in fifth place, Warner Bros’ surprise hit Sinners continues to sink its fangs into money. It brought in $8.6 million in its sixth weekend, bringing its worldwide total to $339 million.
Looking down the list, Angel Studios’ The Last Rodeo did surprisingly well against a list full of heavy hitters. While it’s not the rodeo’s most impressive ride, the film stayed atop the box office bull long enough to earn $5.3 million and sixth place. That beats out R-rated comedy Friendship, which debuted to a wider audience to land in seventh. It earned $4.6 million.
Finally, it is a truth universally acknowledged, that Jane Austen Wrecked My Life took 11th place after debuting in a mere 61 theaters. Still, it earned roughly $291,000. Which, in terms of average revenue per theater, puts it as the fifth highest earner for theaters that did show the film.
The post Movie Tuesday: ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Rides a Wave of Money appeared first on Plugged In.
