As far as North American titles go, Lilo & Stitch trails only A Minecraft Movie on the domestic and worldwide charts. The Disney blockbuster has earned $348 million in the U.S. A Minecraft Movie stands at $423.6 million domestically and $951.4 million globally. Since Minecraft opened back in early April, it’s already done a majority of its business at the box office, so it seems unlikely it will hit $1 billion.
Bolstered by positive reviews and nostalgia for the original 2002 animated film, Lilo & Stitch gave Disney the box office rebounded the studio desperately needed. Some of the Mouse House’s other high-profile releases this year — including the live-action Snow White remake and Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier — disappointed amidst a mixed reception. It’s also come out that Thunderbolts* will lose money despite strong word of mouth.
The poor box office performance of Snow White forced Disney to hit the pause button on other planned live-action remakes, but Lilo & Stitch is proof this can still be a viable strategy for the studio moving forward. Disney might just need to be more selective about which titles get the live-action treatment, choosing ones that have the broadest appeal across multiple generations. One of the reasons why Lilo & Stitch was much more successful than Snow White is because the original movie is much more popular with modern audiences, so there was more interest in the live-action take. This bodes well for next year’s live-action Moana, which reimagines Disney’s animated hit from 2016 (which just got a record-breaking sequel last year).
It’ll be interesting to see where Lilo & Stitch ranks on the 2025 box office charts by the time summer is over. July sees a trio of very notable releases — Jurassic World Rebirth, Superman, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps — any of which could hit $1 billion if the circumstances break right. As tickets for those blockbusters go on sale, they’re already generating high sales figures on Fandango, meaning audiences are very excited about what’s in store. Still, Lilo & Stitch might prove to be too big of a juggernaut to topple, especially since the three July tentpoles are all targeting similar demographics. Lilo & Stitch could be the king of North American releases until much later in the year, when something like Avatar: Fire and Ash opens.
