Lilo & Stitch Cinch Memorable Memorial Day Weekend - Weeks 4 & 5

The big guns came out firing over Memorial Day weekend, yet it wasn’t the gadgets of the IMF that won the day. Instead, something a little more extra-terrestrial stole the show. 

Lilo & Stitch had a record breaking Memorial Day weekend with a $182.6 million four-day explosion. It broke the record of 2013’s The Fast & The Furious 6 $117 million start. It like literally topped the four-week run of Thunderbolts* in FOUR DAYS!

I expected the film to do well but this is bonkers. It might already be the film of the summer and we only reached June three days ago. The film tacked on another $61.8 million in its second weekend and is already at a $279 million total. It was a 57% drop from the previous huge weekend, which is actually solid given the size of that debut. All that talk about Disney’s “live-action” pipeline being over after this year’s Snow White flop was obviously just sitting at the wrong table. 

On the other side of the holiday weekend was the return and potential end of Ethan Hunt. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning accepted a four-day weekend of $79 million. That this was heralded as the biggest opening ever for an M:I film only shows the disparity between this franchise and some of the other heavy hitters. It’s nothing to sneeze at, yet multiple Marvel movies have debuted with $200 million over three-days. 

Still, Tom and his crew packed them in and The Final Reckoning is at $122.5 million after its first 10 days. No amount of masks, gadgets, chases, fights, stunts, shootouts, AI, and techno gobbledygook could stop this film from accomplishing its mission. Now Mr. Cruise can get back to what people really want to see… Top Gun 3: More Mavericky.

Karate Kid: Legends was also released to a $20 million opening. While not awe-inspiring, it’s a huge improvement over the other “leftovers” of May that usually opened with $5 million or less. With a modest budget, KK:L should at least turn a profit and maybe more “legends” will be coming our way. Surf Ninja’s Ernie Reyes Jr., I’m looking at you!

It should be noted that Final Destination: Bloodlines has the highest Rotten Tomatoes rating of our Blockbuster Pool movies so far. That was definitely not on my bingo card. Neither was a $111.8 million total after three weeks, yet the film has been “death” defying since its release. Well done, you. 

Finally, Thunderbolts* seems to be on its last legs with $181.8 million. A $190 million could still be in play, though that’s the floor it’s bolted to. Someone tell Disney+ they need to do a modern-day series of What About Bob with the Bob from Thunderbolts*!  

We’ll see if the not-John Wick John Wick movie can stop Disney’s Lilo & Stitch ride this weekend… 

The Top Five If Today Was Labor Day:

#1. Lilo & Stitch - $279 million

#2. Thunderbolts* - $181.8 million

#3. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning - $122.5 million

#4. Final Destination: Bloodline - $111.8 million

#5. Karate Kid: Legends - $20.3 million