Disney's ‘Lilo & Stitch' becomes Hollywood's first $1 billion movie of 2025
The movie, based on the 2002 animated film of the same name, made $416.2 million in the U.S. and Canada and an additional $584.8 million internationally. It is the highest-grossing Disney live-action film ever in Mexico, where it brought in $67 million.
'We knew there was a lot of love for 'Lilo & Stitch' with audiences around the world, yet we never take that for granted,' Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman said in a statement. 'We're proud of how this new film has connected with people.'
The Burbank-based media and entertainment giant has already announced that a sequel to 'Lilo & Stitch' is in development.
The movie was released on May 23 and hauled in $183 million domestically during its opening weekend, a total that edged out 2022's 'Top Gun: Maverick' to claim the mantle of biggest Memorial Day weekend opener ever.
The original animated movie was only a modest box-office performer at the time, bringing in $273 million. Yet over time, Stitch has become increasingly popular, ranking in the top 10 best-selling Disney franchises, alongside stalwarts like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, the princesses, Star Wars and Marvel, Disney has said.
Sales of Stitch-themed merchandise totaled about $2.6 billion last year. And before the new film was released, the 'Lilo & Stitch' franchise, which includes some animated series, TV films and direct-to-video movies, drove 546 million hours of global viewership on Disney+, with the original movie accounting for more than half of that.
Bergman said in May that the popularity of the little blue alien 'definitely' played a role in greenlighting the live-action film.
The success of 'Lilo & Stitch' comes as family-friendly movies have ruled the box office. The momentum began in April with Warner Bros. Pictures' 'A Minecraft Movie,' which has now made $955 million worldwide, and continued with 'Lilo & Stitch' and Universal Pictures' live-action adaptation 'How to Train Your Dragon,' which released in June and collected more than $564 million globally.
'Lilo & Stitch' is just the most recent Disney film to cross the $1 billion mark. Last year, Disney and Pixar's animated 'Inside Out 2,' Walt Disney Animation's 'Moana 2' and Marvel Studios' 'Deadpool & Wolverine' each made $1 billion in global box office revenue.
Globally, the biggest film of the year remains 'Ne Zha 2,' a Chinese animated juggernaut that grossed more than $2 billion in ticket sales, the vast majority of which came from its home country.
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