Lilo & Stitch has set multiple records during the first day of its advance ticket sales. The Disney live-action movie is a remake of their 2002 animated release of the same name, which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It will follow young Hawaiian girl Lilo (Maia Kealoha) befriending a chaotic blue alien creature named Stitch (Chris Sanders) after he crash lands on Earth. The upcoming Lilo & Stitch was directed by Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’s Dean Fleischer Camp and also stars Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Hannah Waddingham, Zach Galifianakis, and Courtney B. Vance.
Per Deadline, Lilo & Stitch has earned the most first-day ticket presales for a PG-rated movie of the year so far on Fandango. That distinction had previously gone to A Minecraft Movie, which recently passed the $875 million milestone at the worldwide box office. It has also earned the second-best presales during the same period for any Disney live-action movie, only falling behind 2019’s The Lion King, which grossed $1.662 billion by the end of its run. Read a comment from Fandango EVP Jerramy Hainline below:

Lilo and Stitch have captured the hearts of families for years, and now audiences can relive the magic of their story with a fresh and new heartwarming take. It is no surprise that audiences are racing to our platform to secure their tickets for what is set to be a memorable Memorial Day weekend when Stitch makes his triumphant return to the big screen.

What This Means For Lilo & Stitch

It Could Easily Earn $1 Billion

Although the fact that it has beaten the first-day presales of the smash hit A Minecraft Movie is already remarkable, Lilo & Stitch’s stature among other Disney live-action remakes in particular belies the fact that it could become a huge hit. While it fell behind The Lion King in terms of advance ticket sales, becoming No. 2 means that it has outsold 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, 2019’s Aladdin, and 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, all of which were also billion-dollar movies.

A Minecraft Movie is currently the highest-grossing Hollywood movie of the year worldwide and the second highest-grossing of the year overall behind China’s record-smashing Ne Zha 2.

There may not be many obstacles to Lilo & Stitch passing the $1 billion milestone, if its current trajectory holds. Even if the anticipated 2025 summer movie earns negative reviews, this might not sway viewership in a meaningful way, as precedent shows that only one of the previous billion-dollar Disney live-action remakes has earned a Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, namely Beauty and the Beast (71%). The others range from Alice in Wonderland’s 50% to Aladdin’s 57%. However, even a score that low seems unlikely considering the precedent set by both the original movie (86%) and Marcel the Shell (98%).
Our Take On The Lilo & Stitch Presales

There Is Still Plenty Of Room To Grow

So far, Lilo & Stitch is only projected to gross $120 million during its 4-day Memorial Day weekend debut, which comes in below A Minecraft Movie’s whopping $162.7 million 3-day success. However, if these presales continue to surge, that number could eventually be adjusted significantly. Ultimately, it remains to be seen how high the movie can climb, but the numbers are already showing significant audience interest that could see it setting even more records as its release kicks off.
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Source: Deadline

Lilo & Stitch

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)

Billy Magnussen

Pleakley (voice)