“Lilo and Stitch,” Disney’s live action adaptation of the 2002 animation of the same name had proven to be a gold mine for the studio with its historic debut.
The PG film opened with $145.5 million across five days in North America (including Wednesday and Thursday previews) and $158.7 million overseas for a $304 global cume.
It means that “Lilo and Stich”’s live-action earned in just five days more than what its 2002 source material earned over multiple weeks ($273 million in 2002). For reference, the original 2002 animation opened with “just” $35.2 million domestically, a fifth of what the 2025 live action debuted with.
Such figures are bound to attract records…and they did.
According to Box Office analyst Luiz Fernando on X—and corroborated by data from Box Office Mojo—“Lilo and Stitch” is the second-biggest global opening of 2025, behind the $313 million of Warner Bros.’ “A Minecraft Movie,” and the 37th biggest in history.
Among PG flicks, only five others have debuted with $300 million and above, a class that includes “Moana 2” ($389 million), “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($377 million), and 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast” ($357 million).
In its domestic North American market, “Lilo and Stitch” also posted the next best debut of the year, second only to “A Minecraft Movie’s $162 million (again!).
Perhaps most historic is its Memorial Day record. “Lilo and Stitch” is Memorial Day’s biggest opening of all time, beating “Top Gun: Maverick” ($126.7 million) and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” ($128 million).
For a studio that gave us the much-panned “Snow White” this year, “Lilo and Stitch” is once again proof that some Disney live action adaptations can indeed flourish if all is well at the drawing board.