What a start to summer box-office!

The 2025 Memorial Day weekend has broken records making it the best in history due to two sequels. 

The weekend made a whipping $322 overall. Theater operators are thrilled as this is considered the official start to the usually profitable summer season so optimism abounds. 

The stats are:

Record-Breaking Performance: The combined Memorial Day weekend box office was the highest ever, fueled by the strong performance of “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible”.
“Lilo & Stitch” leads: The live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch” opened to a massive $183 million, exceeding expectations and becoming the highest-grossing Memorial Day weekend opener of all time.“Mission: Impossible” has its best: Tom Cruise’s latest “Mission: Impossible” movie also had a strong opening, reaching a series-best $77 million. Global Success: “Lilo & Stitch” also saw strong international numbers, reaching $341 million worldwide. 

Disney’s Lilo & Stitch’ opened Number 1 in North America with a whopping $183 million while Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning brought in $77 million, a record for itself. It’s a massive success and even surprised the studio and observers.

Lilo & Stitch, which is one of the top debuts for Disney’s live-action remakes, is the second-largest across any four-day holiday weekend, behind 2018’s Black Panther which made $242 million over Presidents’ Day.  

For Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the 8th version of the franchise, takes over from Mission: Impossible – Fallout from 2018 that was the leader. Experts say – the credit goes to the movie and effective counter-programming.

The summer period is made up of four months and usually accounts for 40% of yearly box-office earnings. Last year though, Memorial Day weekend had the worst box office in 30 years so this rebound is a huge relief for Hollywood but I say – you had two great movies with great track records and anticipation, with huge marketing behind each one, so it makes sense that people took note and were excited. give people what they want and they will come. 

The movie cost $100 million to produce and another whopping $100 million to market. Dean Fletcher Camp directed the film. The original came out in 2002 and it is a beloved series. Exit polls give this one an A grade. 

Internationally:

Lilo & Stitch made $158.7 million at the international box office for a massive $341.7 million in global sales.

For Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – the story is just as good as far as achievement. It brought in an additional $127 million for a worldwide $190 million start. The movie was opened internationally first a week ago. The news of it doing so well within its own history is remarkable because it had a monumental budget costing $400 million due to so many delays and issues due to the times. The movie’s production suffered through the pandemic and two series while economic times were plagued in recent years so for it to become the highest-grossing in the series – is a huge accomplishment. As far as reviews – I loved it because to see an actor the age of Tom Cruise doing his stunts as he does – at age 62 – is worth the price of admission. Cruise never really gets kudos for his acting but i say it is about time we give him credit. He has withstood in an industry that has few superstars for so many decades at his level. It is his time, I say. Finally should be credited for his longevity and stamina to perform at this level. 

Both great movies – both a must-see.