By Michaela Gordoni
LILO & STITCH is this year’s first Hollywood movie to make $1 billion.
The movie made $416.1 million domestically and $584.8 million globally. China’s animated movie, NE ZHA 2, is still the biggest movie worldwide at $100 million short of hitting $2 billion, Variety reported.
This is Disney’s fourth billion-dollar hit in the last 13 months.
“We knew there was a lot of love for LILO & STITCH with audiences around the world, yet we never take that for granted, and we’re proud of how this new film has connected with people,” Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman said. “I’m thankful to our filmmakers, our cast and all on our studio team who have made this film such a success, and we look forward to more adventures with these characters ahead.”
The family film also had the biggest Memorial Day weekend release in history. It made $183 million in the U.S. and $241 million globally in just four days. It was No. 1 for three weekends and was one of the only two American movies this year to pass $400 million.
THE MINECRAFT MOVIE got close to the billion mark but fell short at $955 million. Aside from the U.S., LILO’s top territories were Mexico, the U.K. and France.
In 2024 alone, Disney sold $2.6 billion in LILO & STITCH products. With the film’s popularity and a sequel in the works, it’s going to squeeze a lot more pennies out of this franchise.
Disney hasn’t clarified when LILO will come to Disney+, but USA Today estimates it could come as soon as late August or early September, in a similar timeframe to MOANA 2 and MUFASA: THE LION KING.
Stars of the movie, Sydney Agudong, who plays Nani, and Maia Kealoha, who plays Lilo, enjoyed acting as sisters.
Director Dean Fleischer Camp told ABC, “They have an undeniable sisterly chemistry. When we read Maia with Sydney, it was just so clear from the jump that these two had a spark, and felt like sisters immediately, and that only continued to grow and deepen.”
The movie is very important to Agudong.
“It means everything in the world [to me],” the actress said. “It feels like everything is possible – like the cliches are real. I feel like it doesn’t matter where you are, how small or big the island is, or not, it all comes down to your upbringing and the fact that I have the community, the culture, and my family surrounding me.”
The LILO & STITCH sequel does not have a release date yet, but fans can expect to wait a couple years or more.
Read Next: LILO & STITCH 2 Already in the Works
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