Box Office Report for the Week of May 25

It is very funny to me how, ever since Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos called movie theatres “an outdated model,” Sinners, Final Destination Bloodlines, and now the combined efforts of Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning have proven him wrong. In fact, this weekend will be the best-ever for Memorial Day, as both Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible set records for the holiday, which is still going strong.

It’s worth noting that what is reported here is only the three-day tallies, but the total four-day cume of each film will be much stronger, as all movies combined have earned an overall $322 million tally through the weekend. This is even bigger than the conservative $200 million projections that were floating around a few weeks ago, but many experts underestimated the broad appeal of a film like Lilo & Stitch, which has stood the test of time as one of the most universal — and beloved — Disney titles ever.

In fact, the movie has scored the best opening tally of any Memorial Day release, with $145.5 million for its three days, and is projected to make $187 million overall for the four days. Globally, the movie has already made double its budget, with a $341.7 million opening, outgrossing the original film’s global box office. Anyone who thought it wasn’t going to be a massive juggernaut, no matter how mixed the critical reception was, was kidding themselves.

As for Mission: Impossible, the film now has the biggest opening of the franchise, with a $63 million tally for its three days, and is projected to make $77 million by tomorrow, with a $190 million global cume. Perhaps it is not as strong as Lilo & Stitch, but it will hold up as it will have little to no competition in terms of “blockbusters” until How to Train Your Dragon releases on June 13. Moreover, after the commercial disappointment of Dead Reckoning, Tom Cruise ensured this would not happen again and got IMAX to exclusively play The Final Reckoning for at least three weeks, before screens are taken over by Dean DeBlois‘ live-action adaptation of Cressida Cowell‘s book.

Time will tell how these two films will develop financially, but one thing’s for sure: the movies are indeed back, and better than ever.

Here is the full list of the top ten films of the weekend:

1. Lilo & Stitch (Disney): $145.5M – 4,410 theatres
2. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount): $63.0M – 3,857 theatres
3. Final Destination Bloodlines (Warner Bros): $19.6M (-62%) – 3,523 theatres
4. Thunderbolts* (Disney): $9.1M (-45%) – 3,180 theatres
5. Sinners (Warner Bros): $8.7M (-42.4%) – 2,632 theatres
6. The Last Rodeo (Angel Studios): $5.2M – 2,205 theatres
7. Friendship (A24): $4.5M (+228%) – 1,055 theatres
8. A Minecraft Movie (Warner Bros): $2.2M (-63%) – 2,087 theatres
9. The Accountant 2 (Amazon MGM Studios): $1.9M (-58.7%) – 2,002 theatres
10. Hurry Up Tomorrow (Lionsgate): $740.000 (-78%) – 1,508 theatres

Source: Comscore