Stitch vs. Cruise: Disney Just Beat a $400M Blockbuster With a Cartoon Alien
It's not every week that a blue alien, a 40-year-old karate franchise, and Tom Cruise's last hurrah compete for box office dominance—but that's exactly what just happened. And the result? Lilo & Stitch—yes, the live-action remake of a 2002 animated film—just body-slammed Mission: Impossible and Karate Kid: Legends, all while smiling like it just stole your lunch money.
Let's break down the chaos.
Disney's Alien vs. The $400 Million Man
Lilo & Stitch earned another $63 million over the weekend—bringing its domestic total to $280.1M, and global haul to $610.8M. All of this, from a film that cost just $100 million pre-marketing.
Now compare that to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Despite being Tom Cruise's big-budget farewell (budget: $400 million, yikes), it dropped 57% in week two, pulling in just $27.3M and bringing its global total to $249.6M. That's nearly $150M less than Stitch.
This isn't a box office contest—it's a public execution.
And Karate Kid: Legends? Third place with a soft $21 million debut, and only $47M globally so far. Not a flop, but definitely not a crane kick to the face.
Legacy or Lethargy? What the Numbers Really Say
Here's the uncomfortable truth: nostalgia doesn't guarantee success—but branding does. Stitch may be old IP, but it's Disney IP. It's cuddly, memeable, and global. Karate Kid, by contrast, feels like your dad's favorite VHS—reheated with Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan, sure, but still missing the viral spark Cobra Kai gave it.
As for Mission: Impossible, Cruise's film feels like a relic of a pre-streaming era—when global action spectacles weren't hemorrhaging budgets. It's slick, but bloated. And in 2025, audiences want either emotionally-driven spectacle (hello, Stitch) or bite-sized dread (hello, A24's Bring Her Back, which quietly banked $7M on just 2,449 screens).
Hollywood, We've Been Here Before
Remember when Solo: A Star Wars Story underperformed in 2018, despite being part of the biggest IP machine in cinema? Or when Jungle Book‘s 2016 remake outgrossed Independence Day: Resurgence? We've seen this pattern: familiarity sells—but only if it still feels fresh.
What makes this different? Stitch isn't just nostalgia—it's been rebranded. The Dean Fleischer Camp-led remake plays like Disney's answer to the TikTok generation. Slick, sentimental, but never saccharine. The alien's still chaotic. The family drama's still raw. And it doesn't cost $400 million to jump off a building.
A former studio exec told Variety, “It's embarrassing. We bet the house on Cruise, and a cartoon dog-thing just outpaced us in sneakers.”
🎬 Top 10 U.S. Box Office – June 1, 2025
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross | Domestic Gross | Theaters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lilo & Stitch | $63,000,000 | $280,121,482 | 4,410 |
| 2 | Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | $27,299,900 | $122,618,000 | 3,861 |
| 3 | Karate Kid: Legends ★ NEW | $21,000,000 | $21,000,000 | 3,809 |
| 4 | Final Destination: Bloodlines | $10,800,000 | $111,714,000 | 3,134 |
| 5 | Bring Her Back ★ NEW | $7,081,501 | $7,081,501 | 2,449 |
| 6 | Sinners | $5,225,000 | $267,087,000 | 2,138 |
| 7 | Thunderbolts | $4,800,000 | $181,858,785 | 2,520 |
| 8 | Friendship | $2,567,097 | $12,366,816 | 1,293 |
| 9 | The Last Rodeo | $2,145,785 | $10,752,970 | 1,995 |
| 10 | J-hope Tour ‘Hope On The Stage' In JAPAN: Live Viewing ★ NEW | $939,173 | $939,173 | 631 |
So… Genius or Garbage?
You'll either love this or hate it. Here's why:
- If you think movies should be fun, light, and heartwarming? Lilo & Stitch is your summer MVP.
- If you're still clinging to the notion that big-budget action is king? Sorry, your franchise just got dethroned by a six-legged alien and a ukulele.
