It's a funny thing, watching the same movies win the same races every weekend, only to realize—none of them are really in competition. They're not playing the same game.
This weekend's box office results read like the predictable ending of a script you've read a dozen times. Superman still soaring. Jurassic World Rebirth still stomping. And Lilo & Stitch—that oddball Disney remake that seemed like an algorithm hiccup—just crossed $1 billion worldwide.
Read that again. Stitch hit a billion. In 59 days.
Let's start with the obvious: Warner Bros.' Superman continues its muscular run, earning $406.8 million globally as of July 20. That's $235 million domestically and nearly $172 million from overseas markets. It's been out ten days and held the top spot every one of them. Opened with $125 million, playing in 4,275 theaters, averaging just over $4K per screen.
Numbers like that used to be enough to signal a cultural moment. Now? It's just a well-managed rollout. Slick marketing. Familiar iconography. Nostalgia in tights.
Then there's Jurassic World: Rebirth, which has quietly amassed a massive $647.9 million haul—$276 million domestic, $371 million international—without drawing much conversation at all. And maybe that's the problem. It's a blockbuster made for the broadest possible crowd… and not a single memorable scene to show for it. Released three weeks ago, now in 3,854 theaters, holding steady. Just not particularly… present.
But the real story here isn't Superman's flex or Jurassic's endurance.
It's Stitch.
Disney's live-action Lilo & Stitch remake, released May 23, just became the first Hollywood film of 2025 to cross the billion-dollar mark. That's $418 million from the U.S., $589 million from abroad. It opened with $146 million—respectable, not wild—and grew. Slowly. Steadily. Organically.
That's not just box office momentum. That's affection. That's parents going back. Kids dragging their friends. People watching in spite of their own skepticism. I didn't expect it. And frankly, I didn't want it. Another remake? Another stitch-job on something that worked fine two decades ago? Spare me.
And yet… here we are. Somewhere between the saccharine and the sincere, this version found a pulse. That's more than I can say for most.
Now, while these three dominate the skyline, the rest of the release slate limps along like stagehands in a storm.
F1: The Movie, now in its fourth weekend, quietly pushed its global tally to $460.8 million ($153.6M US / $307.2M international). It's not flashy, but it's got legs—and word-of-mouth. Real word-of-mouth, the kind that isn't seeded by PR interns on TikTok. It opened at $57M and hasn't collapsed. In this climate, that's worth noting.
And then we have the dead air.
I Know What You Did Last Summer pulled $24.6 million globally. The Smurfs (yes, again) barely managed $33.6 million. Neither made a dent. You'd miss them if you blinked. I almost did.
And Eddington, from A24, earned $4.25 million in its opening weekend. Domestic only, of course. A niche launch from a niche house. I'll see it, but I'm not expecting lines around the block.
So what does it all mean?
Here's the hard truth: the audience isn't tired of movies. They're tired of the same movie in a different mask. Superman gets a pass because he's Superman. Jurassic keeps going because dinosaurs sell. But Stitch—he earned it. Somehow. Quietly. On his own terms.
Hollywood will draw the wrong lessons from this. They always do. They'll think it's about IP. Or multicultural appeal. Or memeability. It's not. It's about how you remake something. With texture. With humor. With a little imperfection.
Or maybe it's about timing. The world's fried. People want something soft. Simple. Kind. A blue alien that hugs, not a cape that punches.
Either way, the box office scoreboard looks impressive. But if you squint past the billion-dollar headlines, you'll see a different picture entirely: a tired industry chasing old glories, while a few unexpected stories find the cracks… and slip through.
No easy endings here. Just numbers. And questions.
Weekend Box Office – July 19–21, 2025
(via Box Office Mojo)
| Film | Domestic | International | Global Total | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lilo & Stitch (Disney) | $418,186,676 | $589,800,000 | $1,007,986,676 | May 23, 2025 |
| Jurassic World: Rebirth | $276,184,240 | $371,769,000 | $647,953,240 | June 28, 2025 |
| Superman (WB) | $235,033,462 | $171,800,000 | $406,833,462 | July 10, 2025 |
| F1: The Movie (WB) | $153,642,641 | $307,200,000 | $460,842,641 | June 21, 2025 |
| Smurfs | $11,000,000 | $22,600,000 | $33,600,000 | July 5, 2025 |
| I Know What You Did… | $13,000,000 | $11,600,000 | $24,600,000 | July 12, 2025 |
| Eddington (A24) | $4,255,607 | — | $4,255,607 | July 19, 2025 |
