'Lilo & Stitch' Needs to Gross $249 Million to Be the Real 4-Day Memorial Day Champ
Here are the actual 10 biggest hits for the holiday, with grosses adjusted to current prices.
‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’ (Disney)
“Lilo & Stitch” (Disney) grossed $14.5 million in Thursday previews ahead of anticipated gigantic Memorial Day weekend domestic gross. (“Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning”/Paramount did a strong $8.3 million).
That puts both films on track for huge weekends, and with the addition of strong holdovers (including week 2 of “Final Destination Bloodlines”/Warner Bros.) a possible blowout four days that might rank in attendance among the best ever for the holiday.
“Lilo” likely does an easy $150 million+ four day (plus previews) total. If it reaches $161 million (some projections have it higher) Disney and a stenographic, hype-inclined, and click-bait oriented entertainment press will proclaim it the record for the holiday.
If they do, they will be wrong, other than the basis of an arbitrary number that has no relation relative performance or attendance. Ticket prices are at a record high (The Numbers estimates it to be $11.33 as an average), and past perfomers are best compared by doing the basic math. It takes a little work, but more so than ever in the age of Trump, even for something as minor as this, facts matter.
The unadjusted record for now is “Top Gun: Maverick,” which took in $160.5 million (higher adjusted) in the U.S./Canada three years ago. It remains among the leaders - in reality it is #5 overall. And that number or better, if “Lilo” achieves it (even more so with the number of children’s ticket prices involved), it would be phenomenal.
Disney of course won’t nuance this if they best “Maverick.” But good news for them - either way, they actually hold the record. That’s because the actually #1 for Memorial Day weekend is “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” with $248 million.
Here is the full top 10:
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End/Disney (2007) - $248 million
Lost World: Jurassic Park/Universal (1997) - $218 million
X-Men: The Last Stand/20th Century Fox (2006) - $209 million
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull/Paramount (2008) - $197 million
Top Gun: Maverick/Paramount (2023) - $166 million
Fast & Furious 6/Universal (2013) - $160 million
Bruce Almighty/Universal (2003) - $159 million
X-Men: Days of Future Past/20th Century Fox (2014) - $150 million
Pearl Harbor/Disney (2001) - $148 million
Mission: Impossible 2/Paramount (2000) - $146 million