2025 has seen the release of two very different live-action remakes from Disney, with the most recent, Lilo & Stitch, outgrossing Snow White‘s entire theatrical run in only two weekends. While some of Lilo & Stitch‘s updates have been controversial, including updates to the meaning of Ohana, the film has overall been well-received by audiences and critics alike. While it will continue to play for some time, the performance up to this point has been extraordinary, especially when compared with other Disney remakes.
Several of the most anticipated movies of summer 2025 have already been released, and Lilo & Stitch‘s success sets the film up to be one of the biggest hits of the year. While there were some concerns after the recent disappointing box office results of films like The Little Mermaid, it now seems that audiences may still be interested in Disney’s remakes after all. This becomes especially complicated when tracking the film against Disney’s most recent box office failure in Snow White, speaking to what may have made such a difference.
Lilo & Stitch’s Box Office Numbers Compared To Snow White
The New Film Is Already Performing Much Better Than The First Disney Remake Of 2025
Lilo & Stitch has already had a much better box office performance than this year’s earlier release, Snow White. While Snow White‘s opening was already a weak $42.2 million, the film dropped off significantly in its second weekend, with the largest second-weekend decrease of any live-action Disney remake at -66.4%. Snow White’s total earnings wound up being only $205.5 million, which was less than even the budget, estimated at between $230-270 million, let alone marketing costs. The film is one of Disney’s biggest failures in recent years, but fortunately, Lilo & Stitch is making up for it.
|
Film |
First Weekend Three-Day Gross |
Second Weekend Gross |
Second Weekend Drop |
Domestic Total |
Worldwide Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Snow White |
$42.2 million |
$14.2 million |
-66.4% |
$87,202,420 |
$205,543,892 |
|
Lilo & Stitch |
$146 million |
$61.8 million |
-57.7% |
$278,930,108 |
$613,458,645 |
The new movie is already performing better than many other Disney remakes at this point in their run. For domestic totals after the second weekend, Lilo & Stitch‘s $278 million only trails behind The Lion King‘s $351,873,087 and Beauty and the Beast‘s $319,032,604. This places its domestic performance already above some of the biggest Disney hits, including Tim Burton’s biggest hit Alice in Wonderland, and Aladdin. Still, the new film’s second-weekend dropoff, even without much new competition, is higher than most Disney remakes at -57.7%, making its performance in upcoming weeks harder to predict.
Why Lilo & Stitch Has Been So Huge At The Box Office
The Film Appeals To Multiple Generations And Has International Appeal
Lilo & Stitch is among the most well-liked live-action Disney remakes, even if it is not entirely beloved, but there are many other reasons why the film has performed so well. Stitch has become a popular brand for the studio, and his design had great appeal in international territories, with merch selling well. Years of association with the brand were built from the 2002 film, its spinoff TV series, and straight-to-video films. Now, many of the children to whom the original film was marketed are parents and are bringing their own children to the remake.
The new movie opened on a packed holiday weekend, with great counterprogramming to bring people to the cinemas with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and the film’s reception has been strong enough, earning an A- CinemaScore. Lilo & Stitch set several holiday records and the new movie seemed to be an accessible setup with an exciting science-fiction narrative for families. In addition, there’s a strong affection for the original film, and its focus on family, and unlike Snow White, it is a movie many still remember and have a fondness for seeing upon its initial release.
Lilo & Stitch Didn’t Have The Same Controversy As Snow White
The Last Disney Film Stirred Up A Few Kinds Of Issues
There were a number of details regarding the production and promotion of Snow White that went wrong, which caused some issues with the film’s release. While criticisms of Rachel Zegler’s casting, with her skin not being white, don’t seem to have been major issues with most audiences, the star did cause some controversy with her comments. Zegler spoke out about how outdated the original Snow White film was, which some audiences took to be mean-spirited criticism. This led to an overabundance of negative conversations online about the film long before its release.
Notably, the press tour and the premiere of Snow White were both scaled back in response to these controversies. This likely caused lower public awareness of the film, which added to its box office failings.
More pertinently, however, are the issues that occurred along the Gaza Strip after the film went through production and the complications that arose from that. While Gal Gadot did not say much about her political beliefs during the promotion, she is Israeli and has served in the IDF. Meanwhile, Zegler has come out multiple times publicly, vehemently expressing support for Palestine. These complications, and difficult handling by Disney, led to concerns about the film from all sides.
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Lilo & Stitch’s Remake Depicts Stitch’s Greatest Weakness Better Than The Original
A specific detail and an emotional scene near the end of Lilo & Stitch prove that some aspects of the live-action remake are better than the original.
Lilo & Stitch‘s changes to the original, meanwhile, have also caused some controversy, especially to do with the film’s ending. Still, none of these are on the same level. The production itself seems to have been uncomplicated, with no issues concerning the design of its characters, as it happened with Snow White’s dwarves. Concerns about Lilo & Stitch only seemed to be about the content, and disagreements with some of its choices, rather than larger concerns that bleed into stronger beliefs in a sociopolitical context.
Will Lilo & Stitch Now Make $1 Billion At The Box Office?
The Film’s Chances Are Excellent, But Not Guaranteed
Summer 2025 is just beginning to come into full swing, and it remains to be seen if Lilo & Stitch can earn $1 billion. The film’s second-weekend drop wasn’t incredible, but it also wasn’t bad, and earning another $387 million seems likely. The film also has one additional weekend coming without any direct competition for family markets, with films like Ballerina and The Life of Chuck potentially serving as good counterprogramming to the Disney hit. With all of this in mind, Lilo & Stitch should be able to have at least one more strong weekend before facing more direct competition.
With the release of How to Train Your Dragon, however, things could change. While How to Train Your Dragon may be tonally different from the Disney remake, it does appeal to much of the same audience as a remake of an animated classic, and will likely limit Lilo & Stitch‘s box office share through the rest of June. With glowing reactions from CinemaCon for the upcoming Universal film and a packed summer season ahead, Lilo & Stitch is still likely to make it to a billion, but may wind up with a final box office result more like Minecraft.
What Lilo & Stitch And Snow White Mean For Disney’s Live-Action Remakes
2025’s Remakes Give A Strange View Of What Is To Come
Disney has several live-action remakes in the works for the future, but things no longer look as dire as they did a few weeks ago. The box office performance of Snow White was an enormous loss for Disney, and especially after The Little Mermaid underperformed in 2023, it seemed to lead to several development changes. Disney seemed to be unsure about moving forward with new remakes, which led to a development halt on a Tangled remake. Now, however, things suddenly look very different.
The next Disney remake will be Moana, set for release on July 10, 2026. The film is directed by Thomas Kail and stars Catherine Laga’aia and Dwayne Johnson, with the latter reprising his role from the animated film in live-action.
If there is one important lesson for Disney to learn from Lilo & Stitch, it is that costs must be trimmed. Snow White‘s enormous loss would not have been nearly as dire if the film had cost $100 million, like Lilo & Stitch. Audiences still clearly have an interest in some of these remakes, although it can be hard to say which ones will hit and which ones will miss. To mitigate that risk, producing these films at a lower price point will allow the studio to continue making these remakes without nearly so much pressure on each release.
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The Lilo & Stitch live-action remake has changed a lot of characters from the original film, but this Cobra Bubbles change is one of the worst.
Of course, keeping budgets lower is easier said than done. Things in Hollywood have become expensive, and it is a marvel that Lilo & Stitch looks as good as it does for what it costs. The film’s box office success attests to the heart of the film, which seems to be deeply connecting with audiences. It is a shame that Snow White was not the film many hoped for it to be, but it is exciting to see such an incredible run from Disney’s latest release. Hopefully, they can find a way to replicate this success in the future.
7/10
- Release Date
-
May 21, 2025
- Runtime
-
108 Minutes
- Director
-
Dean Fleischer Camp
- Writers
-
Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, Mike Van Waes, Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
- Producers
-
Tom C. Peitzman, Dan Lin, Ryan Halprin
-
-
Chris Sanders
Stitch (voice)
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
