Ana de Armas' John Wick spin-off Ballerina underperforms at box office despite Tom Cruise's rave review

Daily Mail​

4 hours ago

Ballerina: From the World of John Wick is the latest action adventure to be soundly defeated by Disney's Lilo and Stitch.
The live-action adventure starring an adorable Maia Kealoha, along with Hannah Waddingham and Courtney B. Vance, continued to ride the wave to the top of the box office over the weekend, in spite of some tough new competition.
Lilo & Stitch remained the champ for the third week in a row, earning and estimated $32.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
Newcomer, Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas, made a soft landing in second place, in spite of good word of mouth, pulling in $25 million domestically and another $26 million internationally.
Tom Cruise, who is rumored to be dating de Armas, even raved about the film, which he called 'outstanding' in an interview with AP.
The film has earned an A- from Cinemascore, per Deadline, and a 94-percent rating from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes, although critics were less enthusiastic.
Meanwhile. Lilo & Stitch continued to ride the wave to the top for the third week in a row, earning $32.5 million. So far the live action romp has pulled in $772 million globally
The thriller is the first spin-off from the John Wick franchise and Keanu Reeves does put in an appearance in this story of a Russian assassin who goes on revenge-fueled killing spree after the murder of her father.
The unexpected success of Lilo & Stitch over typical summer blockbusters may not be such a surprise.
The film, a live-action version of the 2002 animated Disney adventure, debuted over the long Memorial Day weekend, beating the highly anticipated Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning by nearly double.
As schools dismiss for summer across the US, more and more families are likely looking for ways to beat the heat for a couple of hours.
So far, the movie has made more than $772 million globally, making it the third most lucrative film of 2025 so far, behind A Minecraft Movie, with $951,379,547 and the Chinese film Ne Zha 2, which has earned $1,898,972,049 worldwide so far.
Final Reckoning, starring Tom Cruise, dropped from second place to third, earning $15 million domestically.
The movie looks poise to surpass 2023's Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning which earned more than $571 million worldwide.
Final Reckoning already has global totals of more than $450 million.
Karate Kid: Legends starring the original 'Kid' Ralph Macchio along with martial arts master Jackie Chan dropped from third to fourth place, earning $8.7 million over the weekend.
Another franchise project, Final Destination: Bloodlines, rounded out the top five, scaring up some $6.5 million.
Lilo and Stitch will get some new competition in the family friendly category next week with the release of the live action How to Train Your Dragon. The reimagined film was a hit in April, where an unfinished version was screened at CinemaCon.
'How to Train Your Dragon' is spectacular,' wrote film critic Scott Menzel of X, calling it 'A visually stunning and emotionally engaging retelling of the animated classic.'
The Life of Chuck, starring Tom Hiddleston and based on a Stephen King novella will enter the fray, along with the romantic comedy Materialists, starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans.