Tom Cruise suffered one of his most embarrassing defeats to date when his latest Mission: Impossible film was clobbered at the box office by a children’s movie.
Disney’s Lilo & Stitch remake surfed the big wave to the top of the box office over the Memorial Day weekend, while Cruise and his team in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning earned less than half of its holiday-weekend haul.
The success of the Lilo & Stitch remake comes in spite of threats from some Disney fans to boycott the film for allegedly being ‘woke.’
The live-action hybrid film starring Hannah Waddingham — who pulled double duty as a new cast member in the newest Mission: Impossible film — Zach Galifianakis, Tia Carrere and an adorable Maia Kealoha as Lilo, had earned an estimated $145.5 million by Sunday.
By contract, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning was on track to earn around $77 million domestically with another $127 internationally.
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Tom Cruise suffered one of his most embarrassing defeats to date when his latest Mission: Impossible film was clobbered at the box office by a children’s movie. Disney’s Lilo & Stitch remake is on track to more than double it’s Memorial Day weekend haul, according to Deadline
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning was on track to earn $77M domestically over the four-day weekend, but Lilo & Stitch is estimated to earn as much as $180M in that period
However, industry insiders believe the film could pull in as much as $180 million over the extended four-day holiday weekend, according to Deadline.
That victory would be rubbing salt in Cruise’s wound, as it would beat the current record holder, his hit film Top Gun: Maverick, which enjoyed a $160.51 million Memorial Day weekend opening.
In fact, Lilo & Stitch’s box office victory represents a rematch and a turning of the tables, as Cruise and the family film’s original animated version previously squared off in 2002.
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That year, the Disney film was released on the same weekend as Steven Spielberg’s Cruise-starring blockbuster-turned-modern classic, Minority Report.
The two films emerged at the end of the weekend at a photo finish, with Minority Report winning by a nose with $35.67 million against Lilo & Stitch’s $35.26 million, as noted by Screen Rant.
The animated Lilo & Stitch never managed to top the box office in its original run, as newer films in subsequent weeks proved triumphant.
However, the live-action remake is being best by the new Mission: Impossible film in one important category: quality.
Cruise’s film currently has an impressive 80 percent fresh rating from critics surveyed by Rotten Tomatoes, while Lilo & Stitch has a less-impressive 69 percent rating, which is in keeping with Disney’s string of live-action remakes, which have reliably drawn families to movie theaters but have failed to live up to the magic of the original animated films.
Cruise’s loss at the box office represents a rematch for Lilo & Stitch, as his 2002 film Minority Report just barely kept the animated original version from topping the box office when they opened on the same weekend that year
Lilo & Stitch was estimated to earn $145.5M just from Friday to Sunday
It’s estimated $180M holiday-weekend haul would be rubbing salt in Cruise’s wound, as it would beat the current record holder, his hit film Top Gun: Maverick , which enjoyed a $160.51M Memorial Day weekend opening
Lilo & Stitch earned an extra $158.7 million internationally this weekend, according to the data website The Numbers.
Last week’s number one, Final Destination: Bloodlines finished a distant third, earning some $19.65 million so far.
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Thunderbolts, the latest offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe came in fourth after four weeks in theaters.
The action-packed adventure about a bunch of anti-heroes has been a big success with fans. Its Friday to Sunday take was more than $9.1 million.
Internationally, the thriller has earned $181.7 million.
The sexy Sinners starring Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld rounded out the top five. The vampire drama bit off some $8.75 million.
Summer 2025 could be the year fans return to movie theaters.
Deadline spoke with Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian who said ‘The Summer movie season of ’25 is going to be epic.’
As of Sunday, the latest Mission Impossible film had earned some $63M domestically with another $127M internationally
Cruise’s film did beat Lilo & Stitch in one important category: critics’ reviews
Last week’s number one, Final Destination: Bloodlines, finished a distant third, earning $19.65M
Thunderbolts, the latest offering from the Marvelverse came in fourth after four weeks in theaters. Its Friday to Sunday take was more than $9.1M domestically
The sexy Sinners starring Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld rounded out the top five. The vampire drama bit off some $8.75M.
Summer 2025 is expected to be ‘epic’ according to industry insiders. Offerings such as Superman and Elio are expected to help the total box office bring in more than $4B domestically
He estimated the total take would be ‘more than $4 billion in the domestic market,’ thank to ‘what this incredible lineup of films will represent to audiences, movie theaters, movie studios.’
Some of the most highly anticipated movies of the season include family friendly offerings such as Freakier Friday, a live-action How to Train Your Dragon, the animated Elio, Zootopia 2 and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants.
Dergarabedian explained that ‘massive buzz and impressive box office revenue with a lineup of films that are set for release over the next 16 weeks is one of the most incredible ever on offer on the big screen.
Dergarabedian explained that ‘massive buzz and impressive box office revenue with a lineup of films that are set for release over the next 16 weeks is one of the most incredible ever on offer on the big screen.’