Once again, the demise of the theatrical exhibition business has been greatly exaggerated. This weekend, two new films helped propel the Memorial Day Weekend box office to its highest domestic gross in history. Walt Disney Studios’ “Lilo & Stitch” earned $183 million while “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” took in $77 million in the U.S. That propelled the four-day frame to an estimated record $325.6 million tally. The previous record was in 2013 when “The Hangover Part III” and “Fast & Furious 6” pushed grosses to $314 million.
Overall, “Lilo & Stitch” grossed a remarkable $341 million worldwide. At a reported $100 million production budget, the live-action remake is on track to be a massively profitable endeavor for Disney, and, based on post-screening tracking, it would be shocking if it didn’t hit $1 billion globally within the next two weeks.
“Lilo” is also now the biggest single Memorial Day film opening ever, surpassing “Top Gun: Maverick’s” $190 million in 2022. This box office result was pretty remarkable because it was not dependent on IMAX screens. Those have mostly been allocated for “Final Reckoning,” which had the best 3-day opening ever for a “Mission” movie at $63 million, surpassing “Mission: Impossible – Fallout’s” $61.2 million in 2018. Globally, “Reckoning” is now at $204 million. At a reported $400 million price tag, the likely final installment with Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt will need to crack at least $800 million to break even in ancillaries, but Paramount is already spinning to the trades that it’s a franchise loss leader that will be profitable overall for years to come.
Other films continued to impress. “Final Destination: Bloodlines” earned another $24.5 million for $94.6 million domestic and $187 million worldwide. The New Line horror flick cost just $50 million and earned stellar reviews.
“Thunderbolts*” took in another $11.6 million for $173.8 million and $355 million worldwide. We did not expect it to earn less than “Captain America: Brave New World,” considering the reviews and audience reaction, but here we are.
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” perhaps the first Best Picture nominee lock of 2026, continued its remarkable run with another $11.2 million and an astounding $259 million in the U.S. Overseas, the thriller has shockingly pulled in just $80 million, for a global gross of $339 million.
Weathering the storm against some big mainstream titles was “The Last Rodeo,” with $6.2 million in just 2,205 theaters. The Angel Studios release reportedly cost $8 million. Considering how well Angel films tend to hold, it has a good shot of breaking even.
In a remarkable story for the art house, Andrew DeYoung’s “Friendship,” the first leading role for Tim Robinson, expanded to 1,005 screens in its 3rd frame for a fantastic $5.7 million and a potent $5,437 per screen. The A24 release is a rare independent film that has gone limited before expanding to secondary markets this calendar year. The “old school” strategy paid off, as it has now tallied $8.3 million in the U.S. alone.
New releases this upcoming weekend include “Karate Kid: Legends,” “Bring Her Back,” and Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” in limited release.
