\n\tIt\u2019s a Memorial Day weekend for the box office record books. <\/p>\n
\n\tMovie theaters across the country were jamming as \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d and Tom Cruise\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning\u201d fueled the largest Memorial Day holiday in history \u2014 and established several other benchmarks in the process.<\/p>\n
\n\tFamilies turned out in force for Disney\u2019s live-action \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d remake, which collected a blockbuster $145.5 million in its opening weekend and estimated $183 million through Monday. Those ticket sales defied projections and cemented a Memorial Day opening weekend record, overtaking a different Cruise tentpole, 2022\u2019s \u201cTop Gun: Maverick,\u201d with $126 million over the weekend and $160 million through the four days. \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d also secured the second-largest start across any four-day holiday weekend, behind only 2018\u2019s \u201cBlack Panther,\u201d which amassed $242 million over Presidents\u2019 Day.<\/p>\n
\n\tMeanwhile older audiences showed up to watch Paramount\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning,\u201d which earned a series-best $63 million over the weekend and an estimated $77 million through Monday\u2019s holiday. This eighth installment just narrowly beat 2018\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout\u201d ($61 million) to score the top debut of the 29-year-old franchise. <\/p>\n
\n\tThanks to effective counterprogramming \u2014 and a huge assist by holdovers like \u201cFinal Destination Bloodlines,\u201d \u201cThunderbolts\u201d and \u201cSinners\u201d \u2014 this weekend delivered the best collective Memorial Day weekend haul with $322 million across all films. It\u2019s been more than a decade since this many people went to the movies over the holiday frame; the prior record was established in 2013 with $314 million across all films, led by \u201cFast & Furious 6,\u201d \u201cThe Hangover Part III\u201d and \u201cStar Trek Into Darkness.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\tCinema operators are rejoicing because Memorial Day is the official launch to summer movie season, which is the most profitable stretch for the movie business. (Historically, the four-month period has accounted for $4 billion, or around 40% of the annual box office.) It\u2019s a huge improvement from last year, which started with a whimper rather than a bang as \u201cFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga\u201d and \u201cGarfield\u201d led the holiday\u2019s\u00a0worst\u00a0showing in three decades<\/a> with $132 million collectively.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d also ignited to $158.7 million at the international box office for a staggering $341.7 million global start. Disney spent $100 million to produce and another $100 million on marketing efforts for the kid friendly adventure about a chaotic alien who crash-lands in Hawaii and gets adapted by a young girl and her older sister. Dean Fleischer Camp directed the film, which is benefitting from generation-spanning appeal a short two decades after the original 2002 animated film. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d ranks as one of the top debuts for Disney\u2019s live-action remakes, just behind 2019\u2019s \u201cThe Lion King\u201d ($191 million over three days) and 2017\u2019s \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d ($174 million over three days). It\u2019s an encouraging reversal for Disney after March\u2019s \u201cSnow White\u201d remake had flatlined with $204 million globally against a $250 million budget. That\u2019s right \u2014 \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d earned more in four days than \u201cSnow White\u201d did during its entire box office run. It helps that \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d was embraced by moviegoers with an \u201cA\u201d grade on CinemaScore exit polls.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis is a sensational opening,\u201d says David A. Gross of movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research of the \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d reboot. \u201cIt\u2019s a crowd-pleaser, and the audience score is outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning\u201d added another $127 million overseas for a worldwide start of $190 million. Paramount began rolling out the film internationally a week ago and folded those grosses into this initial number. It\u2019s a muscular start for the action epic, which needs an equally epic box office run to justify its eye-popping budget. \u201cThe Final Reckoning\u201d is one of the most expensive films of all time. It cost a staggering $400 million, a figure that skyrocketed as Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie worked through a pandemic and\u00a0two strikes<\/a> all while grappling with inflation. So the tentpole needs to become the highest-grossing of the series \u2014 that\u2019s currently \u201cFallout\u201d with $791 million worldwide \u2014 to climb out of the red. <\/p>\n \n\tReviews aren\u2019t as strong as its predecessor, 2023\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 Dead Reckoning Part One,\u201d which fell short of box office expectations in the wake of \u201cBarbenheimer.\u201d\u00a0However, \u201cThe Final Reckoning\u201d has been embraced with an \u201cA-\u201d grade on CinemaScore. The story, which features plenty of death-defying stunts from the 62-year-old Cruise, picks up as spy operative Ethan Hunt continues his race against time to find a rogue artificial intelligence known as the Entity.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWith this opening, and with excellent business overseas, \u2018The Final Reckoning\u2019 is going to make a lot of money,\u201d Gross says. \u201cBut the costs are enormous, and it\u2019ll be lucky to break-even. The delays were uncontrollable and unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn a distant third place, \u201cFinal Destination Bloodlines\u201d earned a huge $19 million over the weekend and an estimated $24.5 million through Monday. The sixth installment in Warner Bros. and New Line\u2019s long-running horror property, in which people die in increasingly insane incidents, has generated a healthy $94.6 million in North America and $187 million worldwide after just two weekends.<\/p>\n \n\tAt No. 4, \u201cThunderbolts\u201d brought in $9.5 million over the weekend and an estimated $12 million through Monday. Disney and Marvel\u2019s comic book adventure has grossed $171 million domestically and $353 million globally after four weeks in theaters. Because theater owners get to keep half of ticket sales, \u201cThunderbolts\u201d will struggle at this rate to turn a profit theatrically against its $180 million production budget.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSinners\u201d rounded out the top five with $9.1 million over the weekend and an estimated $11.2 million through Monday. The Warner Bros. R-rated vampire thriller has been a box office juggernaut with $339 million globally, including $259 million domestically and $80 million internationally.<\/p>\n \n\tMeanwhile \u201cMinecraft,\u201d another Warner Bros. blockbuster, looks like it\u2019ll fall just short of the $1 billion mark as the PG video game adaptation slows down with a remarkable $940 million globally after two months of release. It\u2019s currently the biggest Hollywood movie of the year \u2014 though \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d could be coming for its box office crown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a Memorial Day weekend for the box office record books. 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