It was safe to assume that the live-action Lilo & Stitch film would be a modest little earner in theaters, but now it has officially become a billion-dollar monster movie and the first in Hollywood to cross the monumental landmark this year.
The remake couldn’t have arrived at a better time, following reports that Disney was considering a change in tactics and easing off on giving their classic movies an upgraded real-world polish, after the box-office bomb that was Snow White. However, Experiment 626 proved that audiences were okay with some of their hits getting reworked after the Dean Fleischer Camp-directed film made $341 million in its opening weekend. From there, ticket sales continued to skyrocket, leading to reports that Disney was quickly considering a sequel.
It would mark an interesting direction for the House of Mouse to take with the Elvis-obsessed alien, given that the original Lilo & Stitch did receive a follow-up film, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, but it was released directly to video. We’ll have to wait and see if the plans in place for our lovable pair follow that plot line and how many more stuffed Stitch’s can be sold to the masses in the process.
The next big gamble for Disney will be to see if the Moana remake earns the same level of attention. Announced back in 2023, the news received a strong reaction online, with the biggest concern being that Disney was revisiting one of its most recent successes rather than looking further back in its library. Admittedly, though, by the time the film arrives next year, it’ll have been a full decade since the original hit theaters, confirming that it’s not so recent after all, and we must instead face the horrifying fact that we’re just getting old. What can we say, except you’re welcome?
