With Disney’s recent live-action woes with critics and the box office, the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch and its titular Experiment 626 could be its saving grace, according to recent box office opening projections. A live-action adaptation of the beloved animated film from 2002, the new version hails from Marcel the Shell with Shoes On‘s Dean Fleischer Camp and features a star-studded cast, including Maia Kealoha as the titular young girl and Chris Sanders reprising his role as the eponymous blue alien.
As the live-action remake’s release draws closer, the first Lilo & Stitch box office projections have arrived. Per Deadline‘s report, based on numbers from Quorum, the next Disney remake is expected to debut with a $100M+ opening weekend at the box office. This marks a significant figure when considering it is set to go up against Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning as the two films share their openings over the Memorial Day weekend.
What This Means For Lilo & Stitch
Should Be A Better Box Office Performance Than Disney’s Most Recent Live-Action Remake
The most recent live-action remake from Disney would be Snow White, which has a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and a 72% from viewers. However, its IMDb score faced review bombing and has a 1.6/10 rating, which pushed it toward the lowest spectrum of the site’s rated movies. With the movie having a reported price tag of $270 million, its $170 million worldwide gross thus far is a concern for the studio, with controversy surrounding Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot cited as a potential reason for this bombing.
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Snow White‘s critical reception and box office numbers lay a stage stained with misgivings, but the reported optics make the expectation that Lilo & Stitch‘s release might redeem not just Disney’s recent stumble, but their slate of live-action remakes in general. As for competition, it does share an opening weekend with Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, and while that franchise’s resilience has wavered in recent box office numbers, it is highly anticipated by longtime fans. This, however, hints at not necessarily a significant dip in numbers, but a boost in this Memorial Day weekend’s box office draw.
Our Take On Lilo & Stitch’s Possibly Big Opening Weekend
It’s Well-Deserved & Somewhat Surprising
Given Disney’s track record of live-action remakes and its highly critical fanbase, which is doubly so, considering how beloved the original Lilo & Stitch is, these projected numbers are refreshing and not too surprising. There doesn’t seem to be much controversy surrounding it, aside from seemingly doing away with Pleakley’s favored disguises, as director Camp and his team don’t seem to be changing too much, instead layering expansions of scenes and characters delectably like a cake. If this remake of Lilo & Stitch is as faithful yet creatively innovative as it appears, it could be Disney’s live-action redeemer.
Source: Quorum (via Deadline)
Lilo & Stitch
- Release Date
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May 21, 2025
- Runtime
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108 Minutes
- Director
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Dean Fleischer Camp
- Writers
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Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, Mike Van Waes, Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
- Producers
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Tom C. Peitzman, Dan Lin, Ryan Halprin
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Chris Sanders
Stitch (voice)
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Billy Magnussen
Pleakley (voice)
