Welcome to the latest edition of “Take That Chicken Little.” Despite a few early months not producing a lot of theatergoing (despite outdoing previous years) and a March certainly worth forgetting, the box office bounced back in a big way with A Minecraft Movie and Sinners in April. The theaters-are-dead-streaming-satanic-panic crowd had to go back into hiding. Wondering what the narrative will be now that theaters were just treated to the biggest Memorial Day weekend of all-time. By the time Monday ends the box office is expected to have made over $325 million in four days, shattering the record of $305.9 million held since 2013.
King of the Crop: Lilo & Stitch Roars to Highest Memorial Day Weekend OPening Ever
For all the hubbub over Snow White and reports of Disney shutting down future live-action projects, there will be no negative reports over the numbers for Lilo & Stitch. Not only did it best the latest Mission: Impossible film this weekend (to no surprise), but it also passed Tom Cruise and Top Gun: Maverick for the highest Memorial Day weekend ever with $145.5 million over the weekend and $183 million estimated through the holiday, besting the $160.5 million start for Cruise’s sequel back in 2022. The Lion King live-action redux of 2019 opened to $191.7 million and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast began with $174.7 million. This is actually the fifth-best start for Disney that doesn’t involve Star Wars or Marvel.
Just the other day I wrote a speculative piece about the summer box office, wondering if any film would hit $400 million. That speculation may have been short-lived. I had Stitch very high on the chart, along with the upcoming Superman and Jurassic World: Rebirth, and I did say if the film exploded this weekend to around $175 million, it would be in that conversation. Well, here you go. In fact, the only Disney films to open with over $140 million in their first three days that failed to reach $400 million were Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Love and Thunder. Thor: Ragnarok is the only other title to fail the reach the milestone after opening to over $120 million. That is out of 27 titles. Globally, Lilo & Stitch is over $304 million already, eclipsing what the original 2002 animated film did ($273.1 million), and at a budget of just $100 million, this is one of the biggest hits of the year already.
Tales of the top 10: Mission: Impossible Racks up $77 Million at No. 2
We will in no way dismiss the efforts of Tom Cruise entirely as he puts a close to one of the greatest action franchises in film history. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is slated to make an estimated $77 million through the holiday, which is right on par with the strange glass ceiling these films have had over the years. The Final Reckoning at least poked through it with the highest three-day weekend of them all with $63 million, just barely beating the $61.2 million high established by the sixth entry, Fallout, in 2018, which is also the highest domestic grosser at $220.1 million. In a weird Star Trek kind of way, it has been the even-numbered films in the series that have all grossed over $200 million, with the low bar being the third film at $134 million and 2023’s Dead Reckoning with $172.1 million.
Even Dead Reckoning, with all the disappointment coming up short on a high budget and opening just before Barbie and Oppenheimer, belongs in the remarkably consistent frame of this franchise. All but the first and third films have grossed over half a billion globally. Over time, we are talking a $1.32 billion domestic gross and $2.81 billion internationally for a $4.13 billion global haul over 30 years. Lest we think Paramount might be upset with the roughly reported $600-700 million spent on these last two pictures, even if this film’s ultimate grosses are labeled a disappointment, we’re still talking about $1 billion in profit for the M:I franchise over time. Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, and the whole team earned this swan song. Worldwide the film is already at $190 million and will undoubtedly join the half-billion crowd. Whatever the final number is, congrats are in order.
Third place goes to another film that has exploded, and that is Final Destination: Bloodlines. It took just six days for the film to become the highest-grossing domestic release in the franchise. After $19.6 million through Sunday and an estimated $24.5 million through the holiday, its 11-day total would be $94.6 million. A few more days and it will be come the 181st R-rated film to gross over $100 million since 1980 and, obviously, the first Final Destination film to do so. Mad Max: Fury Road made $94.7 million in its first 11 days, but it also had a $31.2 million haul over the holiday weekend. If Bloodlines continues to trend below, it will be looking at a landing in the $140-150 million domestic range. In just 11 days, it will have busted the record of 2009’s The Final Destination, which made $186 million worldwide — Bloodlines‘ global take is at $187 million.
Hanging on in fourth place is Disney and Marvel’s Thunderbolts* with $9.1 million through Sunday and an estimated $11.6 million through Monday. Last week we sounded the alarm that $200 million was not a guarantee for this MCU entry. After 25 days, the film is at $173.8 million. In the same period in 2014, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was at $187.1 million after a $10 million Memorial Day weekend. That film was out of the top 10 just two weeks later. Three weeks later it was grossing under a million per weekend until finalizing its run with just $202 million. Thunderbolts* may not fall off as quickly, but being behind that curve by roughly $13 million is a lot to make up. Captain America: Brave New World was at $177.2 million and had an $8.38 million three-day fourth weekend, and it just barely made it over $200 million. The smart money has Thunderbolts* finishing in the $195 million region. Marvel must have sensed it, as they just moved its upcoming Avengers movies out of their summer release slots in 2026 and 2027 to the Christmas season. Thunderbolts* is only at $353 million worldwide and still has plenty of red in its ledger.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is over $200 million and then some. In fact, this weekend it has passed the $250 million milestone. Only Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book redo in 2016 had a better Memorial Day weekend for a film in its sixth weekend of release ($10.94 million 3-day). Sinners made $8.7 million over the weekend and an estimated $11.2 million through the holiday to bring its total to $259 million. That is $36+ million ahead of the pace of the highest-grossing original R-rated film in history (The Hangover), which made $9.9 million in weekend six. Sinners is going to become the new champion of that statistic. As for its reach for $300 million, it is currently about $3 million off the pace of Inception, which had a $7.8 million sixth frame and finished with $292 million. Sinners looks to be in that vicinity, but every weekend of its release so far has taught us to keep looking upwards, so stay tuned, because it still has a real chance. Globally the film is over $339 million.
Sixth place goes to the latest release from Angel Studios. The Last Rodeo, starring and co-written by Neil McDonough, opened with $5.2 million over the weekend and an estimated $6.2 million through the holiday. McDonough’s last collaboration with the faith-based pay-it-forward company, Homestead, had a three-day $6 million haul over the Christmas holiday and finished with $20.8 million (a 3.46 multiple), the studio’s third-highest gross behind breakouts Sound of Freedom and this Easter’s The King of Kings.
Into seventh place after its second expansion is Andrew DeYoung’s Friendship with Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. The well-publicized film is in 1,055 theaters this weekend and grossed $4.5 million over the weekend for an estimated $5.7 million through the holiday. Looking at A24 expansions in this manner, very early in their history they moved Spring Breakers from three theaters into 1,104 in weekend three, when it grossed $4.8 million. Last October they pushed We Live In Time from five theaters into 985 and it made $4.2 million. They may have thought of going harder over the holiday and at least try to beat the Angel Studios release. Word of mouth will obviously be necessary to propel this one further, as it currently stands at $7.1 million in its first 10 days; We Live In Time was at $11.7 million and Spring Breakers was at $10 million, and each ultimately grossed $24.6 million and $14.1 million, respectively. A24 will be opening Bring Her Back this upcoming weekend.
A Minecraft Movie should be getting some company in the $400 million ranks soon, but it continues chugging along with another $2.8 million estimated through the holiday. That brings its total to $421.4 million and $940 million worldwide, likely coming up just short of a billion. Amazon’s The Accountant 2 saw another $1.59 million come from Friday through Sunday and an estimated $2.5 million through Monday to bring its total to $63.4 million. Trey Edward Shults’ Hurry Up Tomorrow with The Weeknd and Jenna Ortega lost over 500 theaters after a single week and fell nearly 78% in weekend two with $740,000 over the weekend and an estimated $930,000 through the holiday. The total gross for the $15 million production is currently at $5 million.
On the Vine: Sony Hopes for a Hit with Karate Kid: Legends
Sony is hoping another go with the Karate Kid franchise will provide them with another summer hit. Karate Kid Legends combines their reboot sensei in Jackie Chan with the original student in Ralph Macchio for a new apprentice. As mentioned, A24 is releasing the latest horror film from the directors of Talk To Me. Bring Her Back is hoping to capture the same audience as the fifth-highest grossing film in the studio’s history. Also in limited release, Focus is hoping that Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme puts up the biggest per-theater average of the year, as his fanbase has made each of his films a contender for that title upon release.
Full List of Box Office Results: May 23-26, 2025
- Lilo & Stitch – $145.5 million (3-day) $183.0 million (4-day estimate) ($183.0 million total)
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – $63.0 million (3-day) $77.0 million (4-day estimate) ($77.0 million total)
- Final Destination: Bloodlines – $19.6 million (3-day) $24.5 million (4-day estimate) ($94.6 million total)
- Thunderbolts* – $9.1 million (3-day) $11.6 million (4-day estimate) ($173.8 million total)
- Sinners – $8.7 million (3-day) $11.2 million (4-day estimate) ($259.0 million total)
- The Last Rodeo – $5.2 million (3-day) $6.2 million (4-day estimate) ($6.2 million total)
- Friendship – $4.5 million (3-day) $5.7 million (4-day estimate) ($8.3 million total)
- A Minecraft Movie – $2.2 million (3-day) $2.8 million (4-day estimate) ($421.4 million total)
- The Accountant 2 – $1.9 million (3-day) $2.5 million (4-day estimate) ($63.4 million total)
- Hurry Up Tomorrow – $740,000 (3-day) $930,000 (4-day estimate) ($5.0 million total)
Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box office on Business First AM with Angela Miles and his Movie Madness Podcast. [box office figures via Box Office Mojo]
Thumbnail image by ©Marvel Studios
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